parasite definition | Dictionary.com

par⋅a⋅site

[par-uh-sahyt]

–noun

1.	an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment.

2.	a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.

3.	(in ancient Greece) a person who received free meals in return for amusing or impudent conversation, flattering remarks, etc.

Origin:
1530–40; < L parasītus < Gk parásītos one who eats at another's table, orig. adj.: feeding beside, equiv. to para- para- ¹ + sît(os) grain, food + -os adj. suffix

Synonyms:
2. sycophant, toady, leech, sponge, hanger-on.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·a·site (pār'ə-sīt')

Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.
1. One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.
2. One who lives off and flatters the rich; a sycophant.
A professional dinner guest, especially in ancient Greece.

[Latin parasītus, a person who lives by amusing the rich, from Greek parasītos, person who eats at someone else's table, parasite : para-, beside; see para-¹ + sītos, grain, food.]

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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Parasite

Par"a*site\, n. [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr. ?, lit., eating beside, or at the table of, another; ? beside + ? to feed, from ? wheat, grain, food.]

1. One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.

Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st. --Milton.

Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would seek to be free guests at rich men's tables. --Udall.

2. (Bot.) (a) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte. (b) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus Torrubia.

3. (Zo["o]l.) (a) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc. (b) An animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic jager. (c) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the cowbird and the European cuckoo.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : parasite

Spanish: parásito,

German: der Schmarotzer,

Japanese: 寄生物

More Translations »

parasite

An organism that lives off or in another organism, obtaining nourishment and protection while offering no benefit in return. Human parasites are often harmful to the body and can cause diseases, such as trichinosis.

Note: The term parasite is often applied to a person who takes advantage of other people and fails to offer anything in return.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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parasite

1539, "a hanger-on, a toady, "person who lives on others," from M.Fr. parasite, from L. parasitus, from Gk. parasitos "person who eats at the table of another," from n. use of adj. meaning "feeding beside," from para- "beside" + sitos "food," of unknown origin. Scientific meaning "animal or plant that lives on others" is first recorded 1646 (implied in parasitical).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: par·a·site
Pronunciation: 'par-&-"sIt
Function: noun
: an organism living in, with, or on another organism in parasitism

parasite par·a·site (pār'ə-sīt')
n.

An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.
In conjoined twins, the usually incomplete twin that derives its support from the more nearly normal fetus.

parasite (pār'ə-sīt') Pronunciation Key
An organism that lives on or in a different kind of organism (the host) from which it gets some or all of its nourishment. Parasites are generally harmful to their hosts, although the damage they do ranges widely from minor inconvenience to debilitating or fatal disease. ◇ A parasite that lives or feeds on the outer surface of the host's body, such as a louse, tick, or leech, is called an ectoparasite. Ectoparasites do not usually cause disease themselves although they are frequently a vector of disease, as in the case of ticks, which can transmit the organisms that cause such diseases as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. ◇ A parasite that lives inside the body of its host is called an endoparasite. Endoparasites include organisms such as tapeworms, hookworms, and trypanosomes that live within the host's organs or tissues, as well as organisms such as sporozoans that invade the host's cells. See more at host.

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