WEEVIL

weevil

(noun) any of several families of mostly small beetles that feed on plants and plant products; especially snout beetles and seed beetles

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

weevil (plural weevils)

Any of several small herbivorous beetles in the superfamily Curculionoidea, many having a distinctive snout.

Any of several small herbivorous beetles in the family Curculionidae belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea.

Any of several similar but more distantly related beetles such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum).

(figurative, derogatory) A loathsome person.

Synonyms

• (beetle of the family Curculionidae): snout beetle, true weevil

Source: Wiktionary

Wee"vil, n. Etym: [OE. wivel, wevil, AS. wifel, wibil; akin to OD. wevel, OHG. wibil, wibel, G. wiebel, wibel, and probably to Lith. vabalas beetle, and E. weave. See Weave.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of snout beetles, or Rhynchophora, in which the head is elongated and usually curved downward. Many of the species are very injurious to cultivated plants. The larvæ of some of the species live in nuts, fruit, and grain by eating out the interior, as the plum weevil, or curculio, the nut weevils, and the grain weevil (see under Plum, Nut, and Grain). The larvæ of other species bore under the bark and into the pith of trees and various other plants, as the pine weevils (see under Pine). See also Pea weevil, Rice weevil, Seed weevil, under Pea, Rice, and Seed.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition