midge

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

midge, n. [OE. migge, AS. mycge; akin to OS. muggia, D. mug, G. mÜcke, OHG. mucca, Icel. m, Sw. mygga, mygg, Dan. myg; perh. named from its buzzing; cf. Gr. to low, bellow.].

•  Any one of many small, delicate, long-legged flies of the Chironomus, and allied genera, which do not bite. Their larvæ are usually aquatic.  [1913 Webster]
•  A very small fly, abundant in many parts of the United States and Canada, noted for the irritating quality of its bite.  [1913 Webster]

  " The name is also applied to various other small flies. See Wheat midge, under Wheat."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

midge, n.
1 colloq. a a gnatlike insect. b a small person.
2 a any dipterous non-biting insect of the family Chironomidae. b any similar insect of the family Ceratopogonidae with piercing mouthparts for sucking blood or eating smaller insects.

Etymology

OE mycg(e) f. Gmc

THESAURUS

midge

Lilliputian, Tom Thumb, brownie, crumb, dot, drop, droplet, dwarf, elf, fleck, flyspeck, gnat, gnome, grain, homunculus, iota, jot, lilliputian, manikin, microbe, microorganism, midget, minim, minutia, minutiae, mite, mote, particle, peewee, pinhead, pinpoint, pip-squeak, point, pygmy, runt, scrap, shrimp, snip, snippet, speck, tittle, vanishing point, wart

ROGET THESAURUS

midge

Littleness

N littleness, smallness, exiguity, inextension, parvitude, parvity, duodecimo, Elzevir edition, epitome, microcosm, rudiment, vanishing point, thinness, dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf, atomy, dandiprat, doll, puppet, Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb, manikin, mannikin, homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow, animalcule, monad, mite, insect, emmet, fly, midge, gnat, shrimp, minnow, worm, maggot, entozoon, bacteria, infusoria, microzoa, phytozoaria, microbe, grub, tit, tomtit, runt, mouse, small fry, millet seed, mustard seed, barleycorn, pebble, grain of sand, molehill, button, bubble, point, atom, fragment, powder, point of a pin, mathematical point, minutiae, micrometer, vernier, scale, microphotography, photomicrography, micrography, photomicrograph, microphotograph, microscopy, microscope (optical instruments), little, small, minute, diminutive, microscopic, microzoal, inconsiderable, exiguous, puny, tiny, wee, petty, minikin, miniature, pygmy, pigmy, elfin, undersized, dwarf, dwarfed, dwarfish, spare, stunted, limited, cramp, cramped, pollard, Liliputian, dapper, pocket, portative, portable, duodecimo, dumpy, squat, short, impalpable, intangible, evanescent, imperceptible, invisible, inappreciable, insignificant, inconsiderable, trivial, infinitesimal, homoeopathic, atomic, subatomic, corpuscular, molecular, rudimentary, rudimental, embryonic, vestigial, weazen, scant, scraggy, scrubby, thin, granular, shrunk, brevipennate, in a small compass, in a nutshell, on a small scale, minutely, microscopically.