munchkin

[ muhnch-kin ]

/ ˈmʌntʃ kɪn /

a small person, especially one who is dwarfish or elfin in appearance.

Informal. a child: The munchkins enjoyed holding and feeding the animals in the petting zoo.

Origin of munchkin

after the Munchkins, a dwarflike race portrayed in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and other fantasy novels

She was only 20 when she filmed her role as a member of Munchkin Village.

Meet Ruth Duccini, a Munchkin From ‘The Wizard of Oz’ |Ramin Setoodeh |March 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
"I had it touched up a bit by the Munchkin farmer who first made me," answered the Scarecrow, pleasantly.

The Road to Oz |L. Frank Baum
The Scarecrow wrapped himself in the purple robe, took off his old Munchkin hat, and substituted the Imperial headpiece.

The Royal Book of Oz |L. Frank Baum
It had the head of a young man—evidently a Munchkin—with a pleasant face and hair neatly combed.

The Tin Woodman of Oz |L. Frank Baum

There are two roads of yellow bricks through the Munchkin Country, but the one we followed is the best of the two.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz |L. Frank Baum
He wanted new straw to stuff himself with, so he went to the Munchkin Country, where straw is plentiful.

The Road to Oz |L. Frank Baum

munchkin

/ (ˈmʌntʃkɪn) /

informal, mainly US an undersized person or a child, esp an appealing one

a breed of medium-sized cat with short legs

C20: from the Munchkins, a dwarfish race of people in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)