Definition of "nanism" []

• Ecology The condition of being stunted or dwarfed, as in certain climates. (noun)
• See dwarfism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Atrophy is partial and special in its operation, nanism is general."
• "Again, atrophy is to be separated from that general diminution in the size of the whole plant or of distinct parts of that plant which is comprised under the term "nanism.""
• "A characteristic phenomenon is nanism: in Sardinia there are some species that are smaller than those living outside the Island, such as the small horses on the Giara plateau, or Sardinian deer, smaller than their European "cousins"."