insect

From Middle French insecte, from Latin īnsectum, from īnsectus (“cut into, cut up, with a notched or divided body”), from perfect passive participle of īnsecō (“to cut into, to cut up”), from in- + secō (“to cut”), from the notion that the insect's body is "cut into" three sections (head, thorax, abdomen). Calque of Ancient Greek ἔντομον (éntomon, “insect”), from ἔντομος (éntomos, “cut into pieces”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.sɛkt/

• Audio (General American):

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• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɪnsɛkt

insect (plural insects)

2. An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.

   Hypernyms: arthropod < bug (broad sense) < invertebrate < animal < creature, critter

   Hyponyms: bug (precise sense), true bug; many more at Thesaurus:insect

   Coordinate terms: arachnid, spider

   Our shed has several insect infestions, including ants, yellowjackets, and wasps.

   • 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:

     Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.

3. (archaic or loosely) Any small arthropod similar to an insect, including spiders, centipedes, millipedes, etc.

   The swamp is swarming with every sort of insect.

4. (derogatory) A contemptible or powerless person.

   The manager’s assistant was the worst sort of insect.

• bug (colloquial)

• → Burmese: အင်းဆက် (ang:hcak)

• insect on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• insecta on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• insect on Wikiquote.Wikiquote
• Category:insect on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

• ceints, incest, nicest, scient

• insekt (before 1996)

Originally having a wider meaning (sense 2), as in Aristotle. From Latin īnsectum (“bug; cut up”), from īnsecō (“to cut up into”). The Latin is a calque of Ancient Greek ἔντομον (éntomon, “bug”), from ἔντομος (éntomos).

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɛkt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧sect
• Rhymes: -ɛkt

insect n (plural insecten, diminutive insectje n)

1. insect, arthropod of the class Insecta

   Synonyms: gekorven dier, kerfdier

2. (now uncommon) bug (any small arthropod or invertebrate that somewhat resembles an insect)

   Synonym: gekorven dier

• → Caribbean Javanese: insèg
• → Papiamentu: insèkt, insekt