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vermin

 - 5 dictionary results

ver⋅min

  [vur-min]
Use vermin in a Sentence
–noun, plural ver⋅min.
1. noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, esp. those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats.
2. an objectionable or obnoxious person, or such persons collectively.
3. animals that prey upon game, as coyotes or weasels.
Origin:
1300–50; ME vermyne < AF, MF vermin, vermine < VL *verminum, *vermina, based on L vermin-; see verminate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ver·min   (vûr'mĭn)   
n.   pl. vermin

  1. Various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.

  2. Animals that prey on game, such as foxes or weasels.

    1. A person considered loathsome or highly offensive.

    2. Such people considered as a group.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *vermīnum, from Latin vermis, worm; see wer-2 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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Word Origin & History

vermin 
c.1300, "noxious animals," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. vermin, from V.L. *verminum "vermin," possibly including bothersome insects, collective noun formed from L. vermis "worm" (see worm). Extended to "low, obnoxious people" by 1562.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ver·min
Pronunciation: 'v&r-m&n
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural vermin
: small common harmful orobjectionable animals (as lice or fleas) that are difficult to control
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

vermin ver·min (vûr'mĭn)
n. pl. vermin
Any of various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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