termite
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈtɜː(ɹ).maɪt/
Noun

termite (plural termites)

  1. 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, vol. 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.
Synonyms Translations Verb

termite (termites, present participle termiting; past and past participle termited)

  1. (intransitive) Of a chimpanzee: to catch termites by inserting a stick or vine into their nest and waiting for them to climb up it.



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