little person

Noun

little person (plural little people or little persons)

1. (euphemistic) A 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. A 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
   • 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

   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
   • 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