A midget is an extremely short person . The term generally describes a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The terms midget and dwarf are often used synonymously, because both terms mean someone who has been short in stature since birth, but they were not originally synonyms. Also Midget is regarded as offensive by both the Restricted Growth Association (UK based support network for people of profound short-stature) and the Little People of America (the American support network), along with many other nationally based groups, advocating the rights of individuals with disabilities and dwarfing conditions. Midget was coined in 1865 to describe an extremely short person with body proportions similar to those of a normal-sized person\'s. P. T. Barnum indirectly helped popularize midget when he began featuring General Tom Thumb in his circus. Dwarf originally denoted people with disproportionately short limbs. \'Midget\' however became linked to referencing \'dwarfs\' put on display for public ridicule and sport, whereas \'dwarf\' or \'dwarfism\' has a more medical base.

Primates