little person

plural little people · plural little persons

1. euphemisticA person with dwarfism, or short stature resulting from a medical condition.

   Here, the amount of personal space that is acknowledged for a little person is similar to that of a child.

   2012, Vera Chouinard, Edward Hall, Robert Wilton, Towards Enabling Geographies, page 188

2. artsA small magical humanoid creature, such as an elf, leprechaun, or fairy.

   The little people then disappeared, and went each about their work or their pleasure.

   1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 298

   2 more examples

   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[…]

   1961, Muriel Saint Clare Byrne, Elizabethan Life in Town and Country, page 285

   Ultimately, Prof. Gregg's search for the truth brings him into direct contact with the “little people” with tragic results.

   2021, Justin Mullis, “Fear, Faries, and Fossils: The Legacy of Arthur Machen's "Little People" Stories”, in Antonio Sanna, editor, Arthur Machen: Critical Essays, Lanham: Lexington Books, page 118

   Synonyms: small person

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see little, person.

   I used to be a little person inside my Mommy's tummy. Now I'm all big!

   1987 February 1, Barbara Siegel, quoting Grace the Pro-Life Doll, “Move Over Barbie”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 28, page 2

   1 more example

   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.

   2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel