cat flea

Origin

noun

See under flea.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

any of numerous small, wingless bloodsucking insects of the order Siphonaptera, parasitic upon mammals and birds and noted for their ability to leap.

either of two common fleas of the genus Ctenocephalides, the very small, black C. felis (cat flea) or the similar but larger C. canis (dog flea), both of which infest cats, dogs, and occasionally humans.

any of various small beetles and crustaceans that leap like a flea or swim in a jumpy manner, as the water flea and beach flea.

Idiom

flea in one's ear,

a disconcerting rebuke or rebuff: The next time he shows his face around here he'll get a flea in his ear.

a broad hint.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English fle, Old English flēah, flēa; cognate with German Floh; akin to flee

Can be confused: flea, flee.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

flea

O.E. fleah, from P.Gmc. *flaukh- (cf. O.N. flo, M.Du. vlo, Ger. floh), perhaps related to O.E. fleon "to flee," with a notion of "the jumping parasite."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

flea (flē)
n.
Any of various small, wingless, bloodsucking insects of the order Siphonaptera that have legs adapted for jumping and are parasitic in the hair and feathers of warm-blooded animals.

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