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In the 19th century, midget was a medical term referring to an extremely short but normally-proportioned person (e.g., with growth hormone deficiency), and was used in contrast to dwarf, which denoted disproportionate shortness. Like many other older medical terms, as it became part of popular language, it was usually used in a pejorative sense. When applied to a person who is extremely short, midget is now considered derogatory. The word dwarf has generally replaced midget even for proportionally short people, and the term little person is also sometimes used. According to the Little People of America, the human definition of this term is stated as such "a medical or genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4'10" or shorter, among both men and women, although in some cases a person with a dwarfing condition may be slightly taller than that." See also Lilliput.

Midget is a general term, however, and is also used, for example, to denote a class of small objects, such as a class of very small sailboats or racing cars. It also refers to certain automobile models produced by MG and Daihatsu. Furthermore, it is also used as an age ranking in various youth sports.

During World War II, small submarines such as the British X craft were called midget submarines.

The term "midget" is still used within professional wrestling in lieu of more politically correct synonyms (see midget wrestler, midget tossing).

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