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wasp - 14 dictionary results
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wasp
[wosp] 
–noun
| 1. | any of numerous social or solitary hymenopterous insects of the Vespidae, Sphecidae, and allied families, generally having a long, slender body and narrow waist and, in the female, a stinger. |
| 2. | a person who is snappish or petulant. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME waspe, OE wæsp, metathetic var. of wæps, itself var. of wæfs, akin to D wesp, G Wespe, L vespa
bef. 900; ME waspe, OE wæsp, metathetic var. of wæps, itself var. of wæfs, akin to D wesp, G Wespe, L vespa
Related forms:
wasplike, adjective
WASP
[wosp] Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.–noun
| 1. | a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. |
| 2. | a member of the privileged, established white upper middle class in the U.S. |
–adjective
| 3. | Waspy. |
Also, Wasp.
Origin:
1955–60
1955–60
WASP
[wosp] –noun
| a member of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, an organization disbanded in 1944. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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 wasp
| wasp (wŏsp, wôsp) n. Any of numerous social or solitary insects, chiefly of the superfamilies Vespoidea and Sphecoidea, having a slender body with a constricted abdomen, two pairs of membranous wings, mouths adapted for biting or sucking, and in the females an ovipositor often modified as a sting. [Middle English waspe, from Old English wæps, wæsp.] wasp'y adj. |
| WASP 1 or Wasp (wŏsp, wôsp) n.
[W(hite) A(nglo-)S(axon) P(rotestant).] WASP'i·ness, WASP'ish·ness n., WASP'y, WASP'ish adj. |
| WASP 2 or Wasp (wäsp) n. A member of Women's Airforce Service Pilots, organized during World War II as part of the U.S. Army Air Forces to ferry aircraft and to test new aircraft. The organization was disbanded in 1944. [From W(omen's) A(irforce) S(ervice) P(ilots).] |
| WASP 3 abbr. Women's Airforce Service Pilots |
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.
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Wasp
Wasp\, n. [OE. waspe, AS. w[ae]ps, w[ae]fs; akin to D. wesp, G. wespe, OHG. wafsa, wefsa, Lith. vapsa gadfly, Russ. osa wasp, L. vespa, and perhaps to E. weave.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus Vespa, which includes the true, or social, wasps, some of which are called yellow jackets. Note: The social wasps make a complex series of combs, of a substance like stiff paper, often of large size, and protect them by a paperlike covering. The larv[ae] are reared in the cells of the combs, and eat insects and insect larv[ae] brought to them by the adults, but the latter feed mainly on the honey and pollen of flowers, and on the sweet juices of fruit. See Illust. in Appendix. Digger wasp, any one of numerous species of solitary wasps that make their nests in burrows which they dig in the ground, as the sand wasps. See Sand wasp, under Sand. Mud wasp. See under Mud. Potter wasp. See under Potter. Wasp fly, a species of fly resembling a wasp, but without a sting.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : wasp
Spanish:
avispa,
German:
die Wespe,
Japanese:
すずめばち
WASP
An acronym for “white Anglo-Saxon Protestant” — a member of what many consider to be the most privileged and influential group in American society.
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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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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wasp
O.E. wæps, wæsp, altered (probably by influence of L. vespa) from W.Gmc. *wabis- (cf. O.S. waspa, M.Du. wespe, Du. wesp, O.H.G. wafsa, Ger. Wespe, Dan. hveps), from PIE *wobhes-/*wops- (cf. L. vespa, Lith. vapsa, O.C.S. vosa "wasp," O.Ir. foich "drone"), perhaps from *webh- "weave" (cf. Gk. hyphos "web," O.E. webb "web," O.N. vefa "to weave"). If that is the correct derivation, the insect would be so called for the shape of its nest. Waspish in the sense of "irascible, spiteful" is attested from 1566. Wasp-waist is recorded from 1870.
WASP
acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, 1962, said to have been coined by University of Pennsylvania sociologist E. Digby Baltzell, but first recorded reference is in an article by E.B. Palmore in "American Journal of Sociology."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: wasp
Pronunciation: 'wäsp, 'wosp
Function: noun
: any of numerous social or solitary winged insects (especially families Sphecidae andVespidae) of the order Hymenoptera that usually have a slender smooth body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk, well-developed wings, biting mouthparts, and in the females and workers an oftenformidable sting, and that are largely carnivorous
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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| Wasp White Anglo-Saxon Protestant |
| WASP World Association for Social Psychiatry |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
