INSECT
insect
(noun) small air-breathing arthropod
worm, louse, insect, dirt ball
(noun) a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
insect (plural insects)
An arthropod in the class Insecta, characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.
(colloquial) Any small arthropod similar to an insect including spiders, centipedes, millipedes, etc
(derogatory) A contemptible or powerless person.
Synonyms
• bug (colloquial)
Anagrams
• ceints, incest, nicest, scient
Source: Wiktionary
In"sect, n. Etym: [F.insecte, L. insectum, fr. insectus, p.p. of insecare to cut in. See Section. The name was originally given to certain small animals, whose bodies appear cut in, or almost divided. Cf. Entomology.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Definition: One of the Insecta; esp., one of the Hexapoda. See Insecta.
Note: The hexapod insects pass through three stages during their growth, viz., the larva, pupa, and imago or adult, but in some of the orders the larva differs little from the imago, except in lacking wings, and the active pupa is very much like the larva, except in having rudiments of wings. In the higher orders, the larva is usually a grub, maggot, or caterpillar, totally unlike the adult, while the pupa is very different from both larva and imago and is inactive, taking no food.
2. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any air-breathing arthropod, as a spider or scorpion.
3. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any small crustacean. In a wider sense, the word is often loosely applied to various small invertebrates.
4. Fig.: Any small, trivial, or contemptible person or thing. Thomson. Insect powder,a powder used for the extermination of insects; esp., the powdered flowers of certain species of Pyrethrum, a genus now merged in Chrysanthemum. Called also Persian powder.
In"sect, a.
1. Of or pertaining to an insect or insects.
2. Like an insect; small; mean; ephemeral.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
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FATIGUE
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