Pronunciation
- (British) IPA: /ˈtɜː(ɹ).maɪt/
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, 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.
- 1802, Francis William Blagdon, Modern Discoveries; or, a Collection of facts and observations, vol. IV, page 162
- French: termite
- German: Termite
- Italian: termite
- Portuguese: cupim, térmite
- Russian: терми́т
- Spanish: termes, comején, termita
termite (termites, present participle termiting; 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.
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