ant
Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.
Noun
- Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.
- The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters […]. But the priciest items in the market aren't the armadillo steaks or even the...
- A Web spider.
Origin
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā Old English ǣmete Middle English ampte English ant From Middle English ampte, amte, emete, amete, from Old English ǣmete (“ant”), from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā (literally “biting-thing, cutter”), of uncertain and debated origin (q.v.), but probably from Proto-Germanic *ē- (“off, away”) + *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Cognate with Scots emmot (“ant”), dialectal Dutch emt, empt (“ant”), German Ameise and Emse (“ant”). See also emmet.
Forms
Synonyms
Hyponyms
army ant black garden ant bull ant carpenter ant fire ant garden ant honey-pot ant leafcutter ant pharaoh ant piss ant red ant sauba ant thief ant wood ant
Related
Derived
acrobat ant agricultural ant Allegheny mound ant Amazon ant ant bear ant-bear antbear ant-bed antbed parrot antbed parrot moth ant beetle antbird ant-blue ant cap ant cattle ant colony ant cow ant cricket antdom anteater ant-eater anteating ant egg anternet
Verb
- To rub insects, especially ants, on one's body, perhaps to control parasites or clean feathers.
- Wild birds tend to ant and sunbathe most frequently during periods of high humidity, particularly right after heavy or prolonged rainfall in summer. - 1974, Eloise Potter and Doris Hauser, “Relationship of anting and...