any small, wingless insect of the order Anoplura (sucking louse), parasitic on humans and other mammals and having mouthparts adapted for sucking, as Pediculus humanus (body louse or head louse) and Phthirius pubis (crab louse or pubic louse).

any insect of the order Mallophaga (bird louse, biting louse, or chewing louse), parasitic on birds and mammals, having mouthparts adapted for biting.

plant louse.

Slang. a contemptible person, especially an unethical one.

verb (used with object)

to delouse.

Verb phrase

louse up, Slang. to spoil; botch: Miscasting loused up the movie.

Origin:
before 900; 1910–15 for def. 4; Middle English lous(e), luse, plural lise, lice; Old English lūs, plural lȳs; cognate with Dutch luis, German Laus, Old Norse lūs

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To crab louse

Collins

World English Dictionary

crab louse

—n
	a parasitic louse, Pthirus (or Phthirus) pubis, that infests the pubic region in man

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

louse

O.E. lus, "parasitic insect infecting human hair and skin," from P.Gmc. *lus (cf. O.N., M.Du., O.H.G. lus, Ger. Laur). Slang meaning "obnoxious person" is from 1630s. The plural lice (O.E. lys) shows effects of i-mutation. The verb meaning "to clear

EXPAND

of lice" is from mid-15c.; to louse up "ruin, botch" first attested 1934.

COLLAPSE

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

crab louse n.
A sucking louse that generally infests the pubic region and causes severe itching.

louse (lous)
n. pl. lice (līs)
Any of numerous small, flat-bodied, wingless biting or sucking insects of the orders Mallophaga or Anoplura, many of which are external parasites on humans.

Slang Dictionary

louse definition

[lɑʊs]

n.
a thoroughly repellent person, usually a male. : You can be such a louse!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

crab louse

sucking louse in the human louse family, Pediculidae (suborder Anoplura, order Phthiraptera), that is found principally at the pubic and perianal areas, occasionally on the hairs of the thighs and abdomen, and rarely on other hairy regions of the human body. It is broad and small, averaging 1.5 to 2 mm (0.01 to 0.08 inch) in length. Its first pair of legs is smaller than the other two pairs. When seen under magnification, it looks like a crab

Learn more about crab louse with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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