Titch

This common word for a small person dates from the 1930s and has a fascinating origin. It derives from a popular musical hall performer in Britain, Harry Relph (1867-1928) whose stage name was Little Tich which derived from his childhood nickname of Tichborne. He acquired the nickname Tichborne because of his physical resemblance to Arthur Orton, the fraudulent claimant in the notorious Tichborne inheritance case, which was topical, widespread news during the 1870s. By 1877, when Harry Relph was 10 years old, he had stopped growing and remained 4 feet 6 inches tall but his nickname Tich had stuck. As Little Tich, he became an immensely popular comedian and performer, so much so, that by the time of the First World War, small people were routinely described as ‘tich’. By the 1930s, tich had become titch and a new word had entered the language.