A midge is a very small fly. Some kinds bite people; some only dance in a cloud over grass or water and do not bite. In ordinary talk, especially in Britain, “midge” is the little thing that gets in your face on a damp evening. Scotland is famous for them in summer: they come in clouds, and the bites itch. They are not mosquitoes, though they can look like tiny ones. A mosquito is bigger, often makes a thin sound, and drinks blood with a long mouth. A midge is smaller and often darker. Scientists split biting midges from non-biting ones, but most people do not; if it is tiny, flies in a swarm, and makes you slap your arm, they call it a midge. There is also an old country use of midge for a very small person, like calling someone a little fly. From that picture English later made midget — midge plus a small ending -et. After that, some people started to hear midge as a short way of saying midget, but that is backwards: midge the insect was there first. Today, midget used of a person is a word that can hurt, so keep it for the history of the words, not for talking about people.