Editing Dwarfism (section)

===Terminology===
[[File:Dwarfism and Gigantism.png|thumb|Comparative illustration from Talbot's 1889 medical treatise named ''[[Degeneration theory|Degeneracy]]: its causes, signs and results'']]
[[File:Two Völuspá Dwarves by Frølich.jpg|thumb|Two [[Norse mythology|Norse]] [[Dwarf (mythology)|dwarfs]] as depicted in a 19th-century edition of the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]'' (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]
The appropriate term for describing a person of particularly short stature (or with the genetic condition [[achondroplasia]]) has developed euphemistically.

The noun ''dwarf'' stems from {{langx|ang|dweorg}}, originally referring to a being from [[Germanic mythology]]—a [[dwarf (Germanic mythology)|dwarf]]—that dwells in mountains and in the earth, and is associated with wisdom, smithing, mining, and crafting. The [[etymology]] of the word ''dwarf'' is contested, and scholars have proposed varying theories about the origins of the being, including that dwarfs may have originated as nature spirits or as beings associated with death, or as a mixture of concepts. Competing etymologies include a basis in the [[Proto-Indo-European root|Indo-European]] root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dheur-}} (meaning {{gloss|damage}}), the Indo-European root {{lang|ine-x-proto|dhreugh}} (whence modern Dutch {{lang|nl|droom}} {{gloss|dream}} and {{lang|nl|bedrog}} {{gloss|deception}}), and comparisons have been made with the Old Indian ''dhvaras'' (a type of demonic being). The being may not have gained associations with small stature until a later period.<ref name="SIMEK67-68">[[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Zni8GwAACAAJ Dictionary of Northern Mythology]'', pp. 67–68. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}</ref>

The terms "little person", "LP" and "person of short stature" are the preferred terms of many of those with this disorder, and while some are uncomfortable with "dwarf" it remains a common term in some areas.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.washington.edu/doit/how-are-terms-dwarf-little-person-and-person-short-stature-commonly-used|title=How are the terms "dwarf," "little person," and "person of short stature" commonly used?}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=https://littlepeopleofontario.com/index.php?rt=product/category&path=64_79|title=Preferred Terms}}</ref><ref name="dwarfism-pbshome"/> However, the plural "dwarfs" as opposed to "dwarves" is generally preferred in the medical context, possibly because the plural "dwarves" was popularized by author [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], describing a race of characters in his ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' books resembling [[Dwarf (folklore)#Eddic sources|Norse dwarfs]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Tolkien|first=John Ronald Reuel|title=The Return of the King|year=1955|publisher=George Allen & Unwin|pages=Appendix F|url=http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/articles/d/dwarves/dwarfpluralof.htm}}</ref> "[[Midget]]", whose etymology indicates a "tiny biting insect",<ref name="midget-def">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/midget |title=midget |access-date=2008-11-18 |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Dictionary.com }}</ref> came into prominence in the mid-19th century after [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] used it in her novels ''Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands'' and ''[[Oldtown Folks]]'' where she described children and an extremely short man, respectively.<ref name="dwarfism-pbshome" /> Later some people of short stature considered the word to be offensive because it was the descriptive term applied to [[P. T. Barnum]]'s dwarfs used for public amusement during the [[freak show]] era.<ref name="LPA" /><ref name="Adelson2005">{{cite book|last=Adelson|first=Betty M.|title=The Lives Of Dwarfs: Their Journey From Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ym5x3mq2p7EC&pg=PA295|access-date=8 December 2012|year=2005|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=9780813535487|page=295}}</ref> It is also not considered accurate as it is not a medical term or diagnosis, though it is sometimes used as a slang term to describe those who are particularly short, whether or not they have dwarfism.<ref name="midget-med">{{cite web |url=http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=22596 |title=Midget definition |access-date=2008-11-18 |date=9 March 2003 |work=MedicineNet |publisher=MedicineNet, Inc. |archive-date=2011-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623204524/http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=22596 |url-status=dead }}</ref>