termite
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From French termite, which is from Latin termites, plural of termes.
Also possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *term- (“drill”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtɜː(ɹ).maɪt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)maɪt
Noun
[edit]termite (plural termites)
- A white-bodied, wood-consuming insect of the infraorder Isoptera, in the order Blattodea.
- 1802, Francis William Blagdon, Modern Discoveries; or, a Collection of facts and observations, volume IV, page 162:
- Linnæus describes this insect under the Latin name of Termes; and citizen Cuvier speaks of it under that of Termites. The vulgar call it by that of white ant, or fourmi vaguevague. The termites divide themselves into societies: each society builds itself a next, and each nest belongs to an innumerable quantity of these insects, who acknowledge for their chiefs a king and a queen.
- A contemptible person.
- 2019, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 31:
- This two faced termite has the nerve to talk.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]insect
|
Verb
[edit]termite (third-person singular simple present termites, present participle termiting, simple past and past participle termited)
- (intransitive) Of a chimpanzee: to catch termites by inserting a stick or vine into their nest and waiting for them to climb up it.
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]
Anagrams
[edit]French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Back-formation from termites. From Late Latin termites (plural of termes), late variant of the Classical Latin tarmes (“woodworm”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]termite m or f (plural termites)
- termite (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect)
- Synonym: fourmi blanche
- 1798, Georges Cuvier, Tableau élémentaire de l'histoire naturelle des animaux, page 479:
- Les termites parfaits ont le corps et la tête applatis horizontalement ; trois articles à tous les doigts. Leurs antennes, en forme de chapelet, les distinguent assez des autres genres de cet ordre. […]
1. Le termite belliqueux. (Termes fatale.)
Est l’espèce la plus grande et la plus commune. […]
2. Le termite atroce. (Termes arda.)
Noir, à pieds pâles, et
3. Le termite mordant. (Termes mordax.)
Noir, à pieds de même couleur.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
[edit]While most dictionaries give termite as masculine, it is commonly used as a feminine noun, due to the ending -ite.
Descendants
[edit]- → Romanian: termită
Further reading
[edit]- “termite”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Late Latin termitem.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]termite f (plural termiti)
- termite (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect)
Further reading
[edit]- termite in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Anagrams
[edit]Latin
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈter.mi.te/, [ˈt̪ɛrmɪt̪ɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈter.mi.te/, [ˈt̪ɛrmit̪e]
Noun
[edit]termite m
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)maɪt
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)maɪt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- en:Termites
- French back-formations
- French terms derived from Late Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French nouns with multiple genders
- French terms with quotations
- fr:Termites
- Italian terms derived from Late Latin
- Italian 3-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛrmite
- Rhymes:Italian/ɛrmite/3 syllables
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian feminine nouns
- it:Termites
- Latin 3-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin noun forms