Insect \In"sect\ ([i^]n"s[e^]kt), n. [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. (Zool.) One of the Insecta; esp., one of the Hexapoda. See
Insecta.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) Any air-breathing arthropod, as a spider or
scorpion.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) Any small crustacean. In a wider sense, the word
is often loosely applied to various small invertebrates.
[1913 Webster]
4. Fig.: Any small, trivial, or contemptible person or thing.
--Thomson.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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124 Moby Thesaurus words for "insect":
Chilopoda, Chordata, Echiuroidea, Ectoprocta, Entoprocta, Lepisma,
Monoplacophora, Nemertinea, Phoronidea, animal, ant, aphid, aphis,
arachnid, arthropod, assassin bug, beast, bedbug, bee, beetle,
bluebottle, borer, bug, butterfly, caddis fly, caterpillar,
centipede, chafer, chigoe, chilopod, cicada, cicala, cockchafer,
cockroach, crane fly, cricket, cucumber flea beetle, cur, curculio,
daddy longlegs, damselfly, deer fly, diplopod, dobson fly, dog,
dragonfly, drosophila, dung beetle, earwig, ephemerid, firefly,
flea, fly, gadfly, glowworm, gnat, grain weevil, grasshopper,
harvestman, hexapod, hornet, hound, hyena, jigger, katydid,
kissing bug, lacewing, lady beetle, ladybird, ladybug, lantern fly,
larva, locust, louse, maggot, mantis, mayfly, mealworm, midge,
millepede, miller, millipede, mite, mole cricket, mongrel,
mosquito, moth, nymph, pig, polecat, reptile, rice weevil, roach,
scarab, scorpion, serpent, silverfish, skunk, snake, spider,
springtail, squash bug, stag beetle, stinkbug, stone fly, swine,
syrphus fly, tarantula, termite, tick, tiger moth, tsetse fly,
tumblebug, varmint, vermin, viper, walkingstick, wasp, water bug,
weevil, whelp, wood tick, worm, yellow jacket
Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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Insect \In"sect\, n. [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. (Zo["o]l.) 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. (Zo["o]l.) Any air-breathing arthropod, as a spider or
scorpion.
3. (Zo["o]l.) 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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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