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Maelstrom Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

Usage of the word "pygmy"

What if I use it to convey the meaning of an animal being morbidly small because of its genetical flaw?
BTW, is it even genetical flaw? Or is there a better/more correct term for this meaning?

THANKS!
  

Top answer

'Pygmy' is commonly used for the names of smaller, quite normal species, as with the Pygmy Hippopotamus and the Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. This is also true of the word 'dwarf': Dwarf Blenny, Dwarf Honeyeater, etc. An individual which is unusually small for its species (which may be a genetic aberration or caused by a deprived environment) would more likely be called 'dwarfed' or 'stunted' (both adjectives).

— Mister Micawber

  • 'Pygmy' is commonly used for the names of smaller, quite normal species, as with the Pygmy Hippopotamus and the Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker.
  • This is also true of the word 'dwarf': Dwarf Blenny, Dwarf Honeyeater, etc.
  • An individual which is unusually small for its species (which may be a genetic aberration or caused by a deprived environment) would more likely be called 'dwarfed' or 'stunted' (both adjectives).
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13 Answers
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'Pygmy' is commonly used for the names of smaller, quite normal species, as with the Pygmy Hippopotamus and the Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. This is also true of the word 'dwarf': Dwarf Blenny, Dwarf Honeyeater, etc.

An individual which is unusually small for its species (which may be a genetic aberration or caused by a deprived environment) would more likely be called 'dwarfed' or 'stun
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maelstromOr is there a better/more correct term for this meaning?
Dwarfism. There are various causes for this condition.
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/dwarfism
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maelstromgenetical
Note: It's not "genetical". It's "genetic".

CJ
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CalifJim maelstromgeneticalNote: It's not "genetical". It's "genetic".CJ
About that, why???????
Genetical is ALSO an adjective something involving and relating to the genes/genome.
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maelstromwhy???????
It is a very little used form and it always has been:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content
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Mister MicawberQuote
Still doesn't explain why/why not, which was what I was asking.
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maelstromStill doesn't explain why/why not, which was what I was asking.
Did you look at the N-gram? Please consider it again and draw your own conclusion. It should be obvious.
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Mister Micawber maelstromStill doesn't explain why/why not, which was what I was asking.Did you look at the N-gram? Please consider it again and draw your own conclusion. It should be obvious.
AGAIN, I'm asking "grammatically", why it is not acceptable, not how often it is used.
And to prove my point, you can say "queer" for "weird", which is no mistake at
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maelstrom I'm asking "grammatically", why it is not acceptable
It is not acceptable because so few readers would accept it. In fact, you're the only person I've met that would—and you're not a native speaker.
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Mister Micawber maelstrom I'm asking "grammatically", why it is not acceptableIt is not acceptable because so few readers would accept it. In fact, you're the only person I've met that would—and you're not a native speaker.
RIGHT, except that your own N-gram shows that the word "genetical" is still being used despite how "unacceptable" you claim it is.
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