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ant

 - 14 dictionary results

ant

  [ant]
Use ant in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution esp. in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.
—Idiom
2. have ants in one's pants, Slang. to be impatient or eager to act or speak.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME am(e)te, em(e)te, OE ǣmette; c. MLG āmete, ēm(e)te, MD amete, OHG āmeiza (ā- a- 3 + meizan to beat, cut, c. Albanian mih (he) digs), G Ameise. See emmet, mite 1

Related forms:
antlike, adjective

an't

  [ant, ahnt, eynt]
1. Chiefly British Dialect. contraction of am not.
2. Dialect. ain't.
Origin:
1700–10; see ain't; aren't

ant-

 
var. of anti- before a vowel or h: antacid; anthelmintic.

-ant

 
a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs, occurring originally in French and Latin loanwords (pleasant; constant; servant) and productive in English on this model; -ant has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of” that named by the stem (ascendant; pretendant), esp. in the formation of nouns denoting human agents in legal actions or other formal procedures (tenant; defendant; applicant; contestant). In technical and commercial coinages, -ant is a suffix of nouns denoting impersonal physical agents (propellant; lubricant; deodorant). In general, -ant can be added only to bases of Latin origin, with a very few exceptions, as coolant.
See also -ent.

Origin:
< L -ant-, prp. s. of verbs in -āre; in many words < F -ant < L -ant- or -ent- (see -ent ); akin to ME, OE -and-, -end-, prp. suffix

ant.

 
1. antenna
2. antonym.

Ant.

 
Antarctica.

anti-

 
a prefix meaning “against,” “opposite of,” “antiparticle of,” used in the formation of compound words (anticline); used freely in combination with elements of any origin (antibody; antifreeze; antiknock; antilepton).
Also, before a vowel, ant-.

Origin:
ME < L < Gk, prefixal use of antí; akin to Skt ánti opposite, L ante, MD ende (> D en and), E an- in answer. Cf. ante-, and
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ant
ant   (ānt)   
n.  Any of various social insects of the family Formicidae, characteristically having wings only in the males and fertile females and living in colonies that have a complex social organization.

[Middle English amte, from Old English ǣmete.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

ant 
O.E. æmette, from W.Gmc. *amaitjo (cf. O.H.G. ameiza, Ger. Ameise) from a compound of bases *ai- "off, away" + *mait- "cut." Thus the insect's name is "the biter." Emmet survived into 20c. as alternate. White ant "termite" is from 1729. To have ants in one's pants "be nervous and fidgety" is from 1939; antsy "agitated, impatient" (1838) embodies the same notion.
"As þycke as ameten crepeþ in an amete hulle" [chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, 1297]

anti- 
L. anti- from Gk. anti "against, opposite, instead of," from PIE *anti (see ante). Antisocial is from 1797. Anti-aircraft (adj.) first attested 1914; first record of anti-freeze is 1913 (adj.), 1935 as a noun; anti-matter first attested 1953. Antihistamine first attested 1933. Anti-American first recorded 1793, in ref. to parliamentary policies.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

ant- pref.
Variant of anti-.

anti- or ant-
pref.

  1. Opposite: antimere.

  2. Opposing; against: antisocial.

  3. Counteracting; neutralizing: antibody.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Bible Dictionary

Ant

(Heb. nemalah, from a word meaning to creep, cut off, destroy), referred to in Prov. 6:6; 30:25, as distinguished for its prudent habits. Many ants in Palestine feed on animal substances, but others draw their nourishment partly or exclusively from vegetables. To the latter class belongs the ant to which Solomon refers. This ant gathers the seeds in the season of ripening, and stores them for future use; a habit that has been observed in ants in Texas, India, and Italy.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
ANT

  1. antenna (shortwave transmission)

  2. Antlia (constellation)

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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