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little person

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

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little person (plural little people or little persons)

  1. (euphemistic) A person with dwarfism, or short stature resulting from a medical condition.
    • 2012, Vera Chouinard, Edward Hall, Robert Wilton, Towards Enabling Geographies, page 188:
      Here, the amount of personal space that is acknowledged for a little person is similar to that of a child.
  2. (folklore, fantasy) A small magical humanoid creature, such as an elf, leprechaun, or fairy.
    Synonym: small person
    • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 298:
      The little people then disappeared, and went each about their work or their pleasure.
    • 1961, Muriel Saint Clare Byrne, Elizabethan Life in Town and Country, page 285:
      His nurse had told him all about changelings, and how the little people would always try to steal a beautiful human child out of its cradle and put in its stead one of their own ailing, puking brats […]
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see little,‎ person.
    • 1987 February 1, Barbara Siegel, quoting Grace the Pro-Life Doll, “Move Over Barbie”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 28, page 2:
      I used to be a little person inside my Mommy's tummy. Now I'm all big!
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:
      Shepard: I don't have time for this, Conrad. I'm not here to be a role model. / Conrad Verner: Oh, I see how it is. Commander Shepard doesn't have time for the little people! / Conrad Verner: Far be it for me to get in your way! You go be a hero.

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