insect

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French insecte, from Latin īnsectum, from īnsectus (“cut into, cut up, with a notched or divided body”), from perfect passive participle of īnsecō (“to cut into, to cut up”), from in- + secō (“to cut”), from the notion that the insect's body is "cut into" three sections (head, thorax, abdomen). Calque of Ancient Greek ἔντομον (éntomon, “insect”), from ἔντομος (éntomos, “cut into pieces”).

1. An arthropod (in the Insecta class) characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton.

   “Our shed has several insect infestations, including ants, yellowjackets, and wasps.”

   “Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.”

2. Any small, creeping, crawling, or slithering animal, excluding mammals, birds, and fish.

   “Ambroſe Parey has a picture of the ſalamander, with a receipt for her bite; but there is no ſuch creature, the name being now given to a poor harmleſs inſect.”

3. Any small, creeping, crawling, or slithering animal, excluding mammals, birds, and fish.

   “The learned zoologiſt of our country concludes his labours in this ſcience by the preſent publication, which contains only cruſtaceous inſects, viz. crabs and lobſters, worms and ſhells.”

   “A slimy slow creeping animal, of the genus Helix, and order of Mollusca. The eyes of this insect are in the horns, one at the end of each, which it can retract at pleasure.”

4. A contemptible or powerless person.

   “The manager’s assistant was the worst sort of insect.”