PARASITES
Noun
parasites
plural of parasite
Anagrams
• asperitas, aspirates, pastieras, satrapies
Source: Wiktionary
PARASITE
Par"a*site, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr.
1. One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at
another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a
toady; a sycophant.
Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st.
Milton.
Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would seek to be free
guests at rich men's tables. Udall.
2. (Bot.)
(a) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to
which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; -- sometimes,
but erroneously, called epiphyte.
(b) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its
expense, as many species of fungi of the genus Torrubia.
3. (Zoöl.)
(a) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence
on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood,
or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc.
(b) An animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic
jager.
(c) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the
cowbird and the European cuckoo.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition