munchkin

Coined by American author L. Frank Baum in 1900 in his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Perhaps reflective of German Mensch or munch +‎ -kin. Compare Low German Menschken and Low German Minschken

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mŭnshʹkĭn, IPA^(key): /ˈmʌnʃkɪn/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmʌnt͡ʃkɪn/[1]

munchkin (plural munchkins)

1. (informal) A child.
   • 2006, Michelle LaRowe, Nanny to the Rescue!: Straight Talk & Super Tips for Parenting in the Early Years, Thomas Nelson, published 2006, →ISBN, page 124:

     Picture this: your child begins his first day of group childcare, and he is suddenly surrounded by other munchkins his age […]

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:munchkin.
2. (informal) A person of very short stature.
   • 2009 August 25, Jonathan Salem Baskin, “Will Nokia's Next Chapter Be Kitchen Blenders?”, in InformationWeek's Digital Life Weblog‎:

     It'll also have a keyboard configured for a munchkin (...)

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:munchkin.
3. Alternative form of Munchkin (“domestic cat breed”)
4. (roleplaying games) A player who mainly concentrates on increasing their character's power and capabilities.
   • 1989 October 5, Hwang Tsong-Wen, ‎ (Usenet):

     Doesn't anybody recognize humor anymore, or have our faces gone completely stiff from thinking about good vs. evil or character balance or munchkin-zapping?

   • 1993 February 22, Magnus, “What is Munchkinism? What does the Wizard of Oz have to do with roleplaying games?”, in ‎ (Usenet):

     Munchkinism is similar to "Monty Haul" gaming; however it involves playing at incredible power levels purely for the sake of watching the terrain get blown away by player characters who are unstoppable. Munchkinism also involves "rules rape," wherein players milk every advantage out of the rules. Often a munchkin will carry a favorite character from game to game, usually with the maximum allowable ability scores, skill ratings, etc - and enough hardware/magic to destroy the planet four times over.

   • 1995 June 14, Phil Masters, Elizabeth McCoy, “What does the term 'munchkin' refer to?”, in ‎ (Usenet):

     younger gamers of a power-oriented mindset .. an immature power-gamer who has +10 Swords of Slay Anything for wallpaper. It derives from those Oz denizines, Munchkins, to young gamers who often go in for hack'n'slash Monty Hauls, to anyone who seems more concerned with Winning (usually by killing anything that stands in his path) than with playing a game with other people.

   • 1997 January 31, Bill Wilson via Wildwood, “For those who are new... The Munchkin File!”, in ‎ (Usenet):

     You ARE a munchkin if .. you roll 4d6 and keep *all four*

   • 2001 March 7, "Caldera OpenLinux User", “Re: what's a munchkin ?”, in alt.games.baldurs-gate‎ (Usenet):

     There are many different answers, but here's mine: A munchkin is someone who's chiefly concerned with "playing to win" - which might be quite appropriate in a game of checkers, but can be very annoying in a roleplaying game.

5. (informal, slang) Synonym of donut hole (“ball-shaped pastry”) (genericization of the Dunkin' trademark "Munchkins")

• (child): see also Thesaurus:child
• (small person): dwarf, lilliputian, pygmy, tiddler