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scarabaeuses

 - 4 dictionary results

scar⋅a⋅bae⋅us

  [skar-uh-bee-uhs]
Use scarabaeuses in a Sentence
–noun, plural -bae⋅us⋅es, -bae⋅i  [-bee-ahy] .
scarab (defs. 2, 3).
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L; cf. Gk kárabos kind of beetle

scar⋅ab

  [skar-uhb]
–noun
1. any scarabaeid beetle, esp. Scarabaeus sacer, regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians.
2. a representation or image of a beetle, much used among the ancient Egyptians as a symbol, seal, amulet, or the like.
3. a gem cut to resemble a beetle.
Also, scarabaeus (for defs. 2, 3).

Origin:
1570–80; short for scarabaeus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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scar·a·bae·us   (skār'ə-bē'əs)   
n.   pl. scar·a·bae·us·es or scar·a·bae·i (-bē'ī')
See scarab.

[Latin; see scarab.]
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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Word Origin & History

scarab 
"black dung beetle," held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, 1579, from M.Fr. scarabeé, from L. scarabæus "a type of beetle," from Gk. karabos "beetle, crayfish," a foreign word, probably Macedonian (the suffix -bos is non-Greek).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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