A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420, 1515-1549
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Pig-, Pygmei, -mey, n. [ME. and e.m.E. pigmei (Wyclif), -mé -may, L. pygmæ-us, Gk. πυγμαῖ-ος. Cf. F. pygmée (Rabelais), Pigmav(e n.] A pygmy. — c1420 Wynt. i. 644 (E) (see Pigmav(e n.).
Pigmeiis a1538 Abell 3 b.
Sum [monsters] is ane cubit of hicht as pigmeyis ?1549 Monro W. Isles (1961) 82.
Ane little ile callit the Pygmeis Ile [etc.] — c1515 Asloan MS I. 167/28.
The land of pigmei
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"Pygmei n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/pygmei>
