INSECTS
Noun
insects
plural of insect
Anagrams
• incests, sentics
Source: Wiktionary
INSECT
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