buprestidan

English

Etymology

Latin buprestis, Ancient Greek a poisonous beetle, which, being eaten by cattle in the grass, caused them to swell up and die; ox, cow + to blow up, swell out.

Noun

buprestidan (plural buprestidans)

1. (zoology, chiefly in the plural, dated) Any of a number of jewel beetles of the family Buprestidae, usually with shiny metallic colours.

References

• “buprestidan”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.