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lousing up

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louse

  [n. lous; v. lous, louz] noun, plural lice  [lahys] for 1–3, lous⋅es for 4, verb, loused, lous⋅ing.
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–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)
5. to delouse.
—Verb phrase
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
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
louse [lɑʊs]

  1. 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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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 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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Medical Dictionary

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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Medical Dictionary

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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