aphid

English

Etymology

New Latin aphis (plural aphides), coined by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. His inspiration for the name remains unclear. OED suggests a connection to Ancient Greek ἀφειδής (apheidḗs, unsparing, lavishly borrowed) in reference to the insects' voracity or rapid rate of production, from ἀ- (a-, not) + φείδομαι (pheídomai, to spare, be thrifty, be merciful), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (to split).[1] Doublet of aphis.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.fɪd/
  • (file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.fɪd/
  • (file)

Noun

aphid (plural aphids)

  1. A sap-sucking insect pest of the superfamily Aphidoidea; an aphidian.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

  1. aphid”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
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