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louse - 7 dictionary results
louse
[n. lous; v. lous, louz] 
noun, plural lice [lahys] for 1–3, lous⋅es for 4, verb, loused, lous⋅ing.–noun
| 1. | 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). |
| 2. | any insect of the order Mallophaga (bird louse, biting louse, or chewing louse), parasitic on birds and mammals, having mouthparts adapted for biting. |
| 3. | plant louse. |
| 4. | Slang. a contemptible person, esp. an unethical one. |
–verb (used with object)
—Verb phrase| 5. | to delouse. |
| 6. | louse up, Slang. to spoil; botch: Miscasting loused up the movie. |
Origin:
bef. 900; 1910–15 for def. 4; ME lous(e), luse, pl. lise, lice; OE lūs, pl. lȳs; c. D luis, G Laus, ON lūs
bef. 900; 1910–15 for def. 4; ME lous(e), luse, pl. lise, lice; OE lūs, pl. lȳs; c. D luis, G Laus, ON lūs
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To louse
| louse (lous) n.
To bungle: loused the project; louse up a deal. [Middle English, from Old English lūs; see lūs- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Louse
Louse\ (lous), n.; pl. Lice (l[imac]s). [OE. lous, AS. l[=u]s, pl. l[=y]s; akin to D. luis, G. laus, OHG. l[=u]s, Icel. l[=u]s, Sw. lus, Dan. luus; perh. so named because it is destructive, and akin to E. lose, loose.] (Zo["o]l.) 1. Any one of numerous species of small, wingless, suctorial, parasitic insects belonging to a tribe (Pediculina), now usually regarded as degraded Hemiptera. To this group belong of the lice of man and other mammals; as, the head louse of man (Pediculus capitis), the body louse (P. vestimenti), and the crab louse (Phthirius pubis), and many others. See Crab louse, Dog louse, Cattle louse, etc., under Crab, Dog, etc. 2. Any one of numerous small mandibulate insects, mostly parasitic on birds, and feeding on the feathers. They are known as Mallophaga, or bird lice, though some occur on the hair of mammals. They are usually regarded as degraded Pseudoneuroptera. See Mallophaga. 3. Any one of the numerous species of aphids, or plant lice. See Aphid. 4. Any small crustacean parasitic on fishes. See Branchiura, and Ichthvophthira. Note: The term is also applied to various other parasites; as, the whale louse, beelouse, horse louse. Louse fly (Zo["o]l.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the group Pupipara. Some of them are wingless, as the bee louse. Louse mite (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of mites which infest mammals and birds, clinging to the hair and feathers like lice. They belong to Myobia, Dermaleichus, Mycoptes, and several other genera.Louse
Louse\, v. t. To clean from lice. "You sat and loused him." --Swift.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : louse
Spanish:
piojo,
German:
die Laus,
Japanese:
しらみ
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 1633. The plural lice (O.E. lys) shows effects of i-mutation. Lousy is 1377 lousi "infested with lice;" figurative use as a generic term of abuse dates from c.1386; sense of "swarming with" (money, etc.) is Amer.Eng. slang from 1843. The verb meaning "to clear of lice" is from c.1440; to louse up "ruin, botch" first attested 1934.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: louse
Pronunciation: 'laus
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural lice /'lIs/
: any of the small wingless usuallyflattened insects that are parasitic on warm-blooded animals and constitute the orders Anoplura and Mallophaga
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
