||Py*gid"i*um (?), n.; pl. Pygidia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, dim. of &?;
||the rump.] (Zoˆl.) The caudal plate of trilobites, crustacean, and
||certain insects. See Illust. of Limulus and Trilobite.
{ Pyg"my (?), Pyg*me"an (?), } a. [L. pygmaeus. See Pygmy.] Of or
pertaining to a pygmy; resembling a pygmy or dwarf; dwarfish; very
small. " Like that Pygmean race." Milton.
Pygmy antelope (Zoˆl.), the kleeneboc. -- Pygmy goose (Zoˆl.), any
species of very small geese of the genus Nettapus, native of Africa,
India, and Australia. -- Pygmy owl (Zoˆl.), the gnome. -- Pygmy parrot
(Zoˆl.), any one of several species of very small green parrots
(NasiternÊ), native of New Guinea and adjacent islands. They are not
larger than sparrows.
Pyg"my, n.; pl. Pygmies (#). [L. pygmaeus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; the fist, a
measure of length, the distance from the elbow to the knuckles, about
131 inches. Cf. Pugnacious, Fist.] [Written also pigmy.] 1. (Class.
Myth.) One of a fabulous race of dwarfs who waged war with the cranes,
and were destroyed.