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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



196 words match “BEETLE”

APHIDOPHAGOUS a.
Feeding upon aphides, or plant lice, as do beetles of the family Coccinellidæ.
BACON n.
and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh. Bacon beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which, especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc. See Dermestes. -- To save one's bacon, to save one's self or property from harm or less. [Colloq.]…
BEE n.
of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks. Bee beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives. -- Bee bird (Zoöl.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird. -- Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the g…
BLIND a.
c. -- Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. -- Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. -- Blind cat (Zoöl.), a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. -- Blind coal, coal that burns w…
BLISTER n.
plaster of Spanish flies, or other matter, applied to raise a blister. Dunglison. Blister beetle, a beetle used to raise blisters, esp. the Lytta (or Cantharis) vesicatoria, called Cantharis or Spanish fly by druggists. See Cantharis. -- Blister fly, a blister beetle. -- Blister plaster, a plaster designed to raise a…
BLOBBER n.
bble; blubber. [Low] T. Carew. Blobber lip, a thick, protruding lip. His blobber lips and beetle brows commend. Dryden.
BOMBARDIER n.
A noncommissioned officer in the British artillery. Bombardier beetle (Zoöl.), a kind of beetle (Brachinus crepitans), so called because, when disturbed, it makes an explosive discharge of a pungent and acrid vapor from its anal glands. The name is applied to other related species, as the B. displosor, which can produc…
BOOKWORM n.
Any larva of a beetle or moth, which is injurious to books. Many species are known.
BOOM v.
with a hollow note; to make a hollow sound, as the bittern, and some insects. At eve the beetle boometh Athwart the thicket lone. Tennyson.
BRACHELYTRA n.
A group of beetles having short elytra, as the rove beetles.
BRACHYPTERA n.
A group of Coleoptera having short wings; the rove beetles.
BUFFALO n.
irds perch upon buffaloes and cattle, in search of parasites. -- Buffalo bug, the carpet beetle. See under Carpet. -- Buffalo chips, dry dung of the buffalo, or bison, used for fuel. [U.S.] -- Buffalo clover (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium reflexum and T.soloniferum) found in the ancient grazing grounds of the Am…
BUG n.
One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle.
BULLCOMBER n.
A scaraboid beetle; esp. the Typhæus vulgaris of Europe.
BULLHEAD n.
The black-bellied plover (Squatarola helvetica); -- called also beetlehead.
BUPRESTIDAN n.
One of a tribe of beetles, of the genus Buprestis and allied genera, usually with brilliant metallic colors. The larvæ are usually bores in timber, or beneath bark, and are often very destructive to trees.
BURY v.
bury strife. Give me a bowl of wine In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. Shak. Burying beetle (Zoöl.), the general name of many species of beetles, of the tribe Necrophaga; the sexton beetle; -- so called from their habit of burying small dead animals by digging away the earth beneath them. The larvæ feed upon decay…
CABBAGE n.
reen plant-louse (Aphis brassicæ) which lives upon the leaves of the cabbage. -- Cabbage Beetle (Zoöl.), a small, striped flea-beetle (Phyllotreta vittata) which lives, in the larval state, on the roots, and when adult, on the leaves, of cabbage and other cruciferous plants. -- Cabbage butterfly (Zoöl.), a white butt…
CANE n.
A local European measure of length. See Canna. Cane borer (Zoö.), A beetle (Oberea bimaculata) which, in the larval state, bores into pith and destroy the canes or stalks of the raspberry, blackberry, etc. -- Cane mill, a mill for grinding sugar canes, for the manufacture of sugar. -- Cane trash, the crushed stalks a…
CANTHARIS n.
A beetle (Lytta, or Cantharis, vesicatoria), having an elongated cylindrical body of a brilliant green color, and a nauseous odor; the blister fly or blister beetle, of the apothecary; -- also called Spanish fly. Many other species of Lytta, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See Blister beetle, under Blist…
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