termite

From French termite, which is from Latin termites, plural of termes.
Also possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *term- (“drill”).

Linnæus describes this insect under the Latin name of Termes; and citizen Cuvier speaks of it under that of Termites. The vulgar call it by that of white ant, or fourmi vaguevague. The termites divide themselves into societies: each society builds itself a next, and each nest belongs to an innumerable quantity of these insects, who acknowledge for their chiefs a king and a queen.

1802, Francis William Blagdon, Modern Discoveries; or, a Collection of facts and observations, volume IV, page 162:

A white-bodied, wood-consuming insect of the infraorder Isoptera, in the order Blattodea.


termite

→ Romanian: termită

Back-formation from termites. From Late Latin termites (plural of termes), late variant of the Classical Latin tarmes (“woodworm”).

Les termites parfaits ont le corps et la tête applatis horizontalement ; trois articles à tous les doigts. Leurs antennes, en forme de chapelet, les distinguent assez des autres genres de cet ordre. […]
1. Le termite belliqueux. (Termes fatale.)
Est l’espèce la plus grande et la plus commune. […]
2. Le termite atroce. (Termes arda.)
Noir, à pieds pâles, et
3. Le termite mordant. (Termes mordax.)
Noir, à pieds de même couleur.

1798, Georges Cuvier, Tableau élémentaire de l'histoire naturelle des animaux, page 479:

termite (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect)


Termite

de-noun

Termite f (genitive Termite, plural Termiten)

Termite (genitive)
Termiten (plural)
Termite (nominative singular)
Termiten (definite nominative plural)
Termite (genitive singular)
Termiten (definite genitive plural)
Termite (dative singular)
Termiten (dative definite plural)
Termite (accusative singular)
Termiten (accusative definite plural)

From the Late Latin termes, late variant of the Classical Latin tarmes (“woodworm”).


white ant

From white + ant, reflecting a superficial resemblance to the ant.

The most important point in the work of the white ant remains to be noted. I have already said that the white ant is never seen.

1885 October, Henry Drummond, “The White Ant: A Theory”, in Popular Science Monthly, page 741:

The most voracious cable-muncher in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of Australia is the termite, or white ant, which eats through both lead and polythene sheathings.

1971 June 3, “Technology Review: Spoiling the termite′s dinner”, in New Scientist, page 573:

1990 December 13, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page D.3,
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am happy to hear that the hon. Member appreciates the fact that white ants cause a lot [of] destruction in his area. There is very little we can do about white ants.

White ants destroy living plants by removing the epidermal layers, effectively ‘ringbarking’ the subject.

1995, Bill Sheat, Gerald Schofield, Complete Gardening in Southern Africa, page 424:

Our house was built on a hard ferruginous conglomerate, in order to be out of the way of the white ant, but they came in despite the precaution;[…].

2010, David Livingstone, “15: Conversations on Rain-Making”, in Roy Richard Grinker, Stephen C. Lubkemann, Christopher B. Steiner, editors, Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History and Representation, page 246:


termit

termit (indefinite nominative singular)
termits (genitive indefinite singular)
termiten (definite nominative singular)
termitens (definite genitive singular)
termiter (indefinite nominative plural)
termiters (genitive indefinite plural)
termiterna (definite nominative plural)
termiternas (definite genitive plural)


termes

From the translingual Termes (genus name), from Late Latin termes, late variant of Classical Latin tarmes (“woodworm”).

These turret nests, built by two different species of Termites.

1781, Henry Smeathman, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, LXXI, page 160:

The termes, or what is called the white ant, infests this island.

1800, The Asiatic Annual Register, page 5/2:

The termes of South Africa is not the destructive species.

1834, Thomas Pringle, chapter VIII, in African Sketches, page 287:


термит

bg-noun

терми́т • (termít) m

терми́т (canonical)
termít (romanization)
терми́т (indefinite singular)
терми́ти (indefinite plural)
терми́тът (definite singular subjective)
терми́тите (definite plural subjective)
терми́та (definite objective singular)
терми́тите (definite objective plural)
терми́та (count-form plural)

Transliteration of the taxonomic name Termitidae, from the plural stem of Latin termes (“woodworm”).

termite (eusocial insect of infraorder Isoptera)


kalotermitid

(zoology) Any member of the family Kalotermitidae of termites.


mastotermitid

(zoology) Any termite of the family Mastotermitidae.


rhinotermitid

(zoology) Any termite in the family Rhinotermitidae.


termitid

(zoology) Any termite in the family Termitidae


termopsid

(zoology) Any termite in the family Termopsidae.


duck ant

Its shape is supposed to resemble that of a duck.

A white termite of Jamaica, of species Nasutitermes nigriceps, which builds large nests in trees.


magnetic termite

en-noun

magnetic termite (plural magnetic termites)

Amitermes meridionalis, a eusocial insect in the family Termitidae, endemic to northern Australia.


compass termite

compass termite (plural compass termites)


mondɔngɛ

ln-noun

mondɔngɛ class 3 (plural mindɔngɛ class 4)


isopteran

(zoology) Any member of the infraorder Isoptera of termites.


anay

[ˈʔaː.n̪aɪ̯]

From Proto-Philippine *anay, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *anay, from Proto-Austronesian *aNay. Compare Malay anai-anai.


ant-bed

en-noun

ant-bed (usually uncountable, plural ant-beds)

1912, Fred King, "Born to Floods and Drought" in Marion Houldsworth, ed. Barefoot Through the Bindies, Salisbury, QLD: Boolarong Press, 2012, p. 112, https://books.google.ca/books?id=IEgexYAnkFAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
The meat house had an ant-bed floor and the old blackboy and I dug that ant-bed out, carted it away about fifty yards and shovelled it into a gully. And then we built another ant-bed floor.

Gaudy fungi sprouted from the bark walls of the humpies, which were furred with green slime. The roofs, shrunk by the long dry season, and the green beams which supported them swelled and twisted and leaked at every joint, and the ant-bed floor came up in clods of grey mud on the men's boots.

1934, Brian Penton, chapter 18, in Landtakers: The Story of an Epoch, Raleigh, NC: Hayes Barton, published 2006, page 120:

The floor was of ant-bed, the stuff of the termites' or white-ants' nests, which when crushed and wetted and beaten hard makes serviceable cement.

1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter VII, in Capricornia, page 92:

Mum said Dad told her he would fix the problem. "We'll put down an ant-bed floor," he suggested.
We collected ant-hills from the paddocks, crushed them, mixed the powder to a smooth paste with water, and then spread a thick layer over the dirt floor." Mum told me, adding, "The ant-bed dried hard enough to sweep with a broom. I dragged an old pair of trousers dipped in water over it to keep it hard."

2005, Dawn Johnson, Face Values, Salisbury, QLD: Boolarong Press, page 17:

(Australia) Termite mounds, crushed and watered, used as flooring material.


mối

From Proto-Vietic *k-moːlʔ ~ *k-muːrʔ ~ *k-moːrʔ. Cognate with Proto-Katuic *kmuar (whence Pacoh camoar (“termite”)), Semai kemur (“caterpillar, maggot”), Khmer ខ្មើរ (khmaə, “flying ant”), ខ្មុល (khmol, “mole cricket”).


흰개미

From 흰 (huin, “white”) + 개미 (gaemi, “ant”). Compare English white ant, Chinese 白蟻 /白蚁 (báiyǐ, literally “white ant”), Japanese 白蟻 (shiroari, literally “white ant”).


ઊધઈ

head

ઊધઈ • (ūdhaī) f

gu-noun

ઊધઈ • (ūdhaī) f

ūdhaī (romanization)
ઊધઈ (nominative singular)
ઊધઈઓ (nominative plural)
ઊધઈ (oblique singular)
ઊધઈઓ (oblique plural)
ઊધઈ (singular vocative)
ઊધઈઓ (plural vocative)
ઊધઈ (instrumental singular)
ઊધઈઓ (instrumental plural)
ઊધઈએ (locative singular)
ઊધઈઓએ (locative plural)

Inherited from Middle Gujarati उदेही, ऊदेही, from Prakrit 𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸 (uddehiyā), from Sanskrit ઉદ્દેહિકા (uddehikā).


serritermitid

Any termite of the family Serritermitidae


dampwood termite

en-noun

dampwood termite (plural dampwood termites)

Any primitive termite of the family Termopsidae


macrotermitine

Any termite of the subfamily Macrotermitinae


anai-anai

From Malay anai-anai, from Classical Malay اناي-اناي (anai-anai), اناي٢ (anai2), from Proto-Malayic *anay-anay, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *anay, from Proto-Austronesian *aNay.


موریانه

head

موریانه • (muryâne) (plural موریانهها (muryâne-hâ))

muryâne (romanization)
موریانهها (plural)

Derived from the word مور (mur, “ant”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *marwíš.


ukwa

ukwá (canonical feminine)
ukwá (absolutive)
ukwá (predicative)
ukwá (subjective)
ukwá (genitive)
ukwál (l-case with-postposition)
ukwák (k-case with-postposition)
ukwát (t-case with-postposition)
ukwáh (h-case with-postposition)


жегавица

bg-noun

жега́вица • (žegávica) f

жега́вица (canonical)
žegávica (romanization)
жега́вица (indefinite singular)
жега́вици (indefinite plural)
жега́вицата (definite singular)
жега́виците (definite plural)
жега́вице (singular vocative)
жега́вици (plural vocative)

bg-ndecl

жега́вица<(v)>

From же́гав (žégav, “scorching, hot”) + -ица (-ica), originally referring to any insect with pungent bite.

же́гвам

to brand, to sting, to pierce with hot object

(dialectal) termite (isopteran insect of family Termitidae, feeding on wood)


𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸

head

<i class="Deva mention" lang="pra">उद्देहिया</i>

𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸 (uddehiyā) f (Devanagari उद्देहिया)

uddehiyā (romanization)
उद्देहिया (Devanagari)

Northwestern:

Sindhi: ud̤ohī

Arabic script: اُڏوهِي

Devanagari script: उॾोही

Khudabadi script: 𑊴𑋉𑋧𑋞𑋢

Southern:

Marathi: udhaī

Devanagari script: उधई

Modi script: 𑘄𑘠𑘃

Varhadi: udaī, udhaī, udhḷī

Devanagari script: उदई, उधई, उधळी

Modi script: 𑘄𑘟𑘃, 𑘄𑘠𑘃, 𑘄𑘠𑘯𑘲

Western:

Ahirani: उधई (udhaī)

Middle Gujarati: उदेही, ऊदेही

Gujarati: ઊધઈ (ūdhaī)

Marwari:

desc

Devanagari script: उदाई (udāī), ऊदेइ (ūdei)

Mahajani script: 𑅒𑅥𑅑 (udi), 𑅒𑅥𑅓𑅑 (udei)

Nimadi: उधइ (udhai)

Inherited from Sanskrit 𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀓𑀸 (uddehikā).

inh+

𑀕𑁄𑀫𑀻 𑀫𑀁𑀓𑀡 𑀚𑀽𑀆 𑀧𑀺𑀧𑀻𑀮𑀺 𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸 𑀬 𑀫𑀓𑁆𑀓𑁄𑀟𑀸
𑀇𑀮𑁆𑀮𑀺𑀬 𑀖𑀬𑀫𑀺𑀮𑁆𑀮𑀻𑀑 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀬 𑀕𑁄𑀓𑀻𑀟 𑀚𑀸𑀈𑀑 𑁈𑁧𑁬𑁈
𑀕𑀤𑁆𑀤𑀳𑀬 𑀘𑁄𑀭𑀓𑀻𑀟𑀸 𑀕𑁄𑀫𑀬𑀓𑀻𑀟𑀸 𑀬 𑀥𑀦𑁆𑀦𑀓𑀻𑀟𑀸 𑀬
𑀓𑀼𑀁𑀣𑀼 𑀕𑁄𑀯𑀸𑀮𑀺𑀬 𑀇𑀮𑀺𑀬𑀸 𑀢𑁂𑀇𑀁𑀤𑀺𑀬 𑀇𑀁𑀤𑀕𑁄𑀯𑀸𑀈 𑁈𑁧𑁭𑁈
gomī maṃkaṇa jūā pipīli uddehiyā ya makkoḍā
illiya ghayamillīo sāvaya gokīḍa jāīo .16.
gaddahaya corakīḍā gomayakīḍā ya dhannakīḍā ya
kuṃthu govāliya iliyā teiṃdiya iṃdagovāī .17.
2004 translation

c. 1088 – 1173, Hemachandra, Jīva-Vicāra 16-17

excreta worms, dung worms, grain worms, kanthva, gopalika, snail etc. are Teindriya living beings.

Centipede, bug, louse, ant, termite, black ant, ial, ghimel, sava, gingoda, gaddhaiya,

ઉધાયેલું

*𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸-𑀇𑀮𑁆𑀮-𑀕 ~ *𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸-𑀇𑀮𑁆𑀮-𑀬 (*uddehiyā-illa-ga ~ *uddehiyā-illa-ya)


उधइ

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀉𑀤𑁆𑀤𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀬𑀸 (uddehiyā), from Sanskrit उद्देहिका (uddehikā).


meridian termite

en-noun

meridian termite (plural meridian termites)


spinifex termite

spinifex termite (plural spinifex termites)

A species of termite, Nasutitermes triodiae, endemic to spinifex grasslands of the Northern Territory, Australia, which builds very large termite mounds.


cathedral termite

cathedral termite (plural cathedral termites)

So called as they build impressively large termite mounds (cathedral mounds).


ഈയൽ

head

ഈയൽ • (īyal)

īyal (romanization)
ഈയൽ (nominative singular)
ഈയലുകൾ (nominative plural)
ഈയലേ (singular vocative)
ഈയലുകളേ (plural vocative)
ഈയലിനെ (accusative singular)
ഈയലുകളെ (accusative plural)
ഈയലിന് (dative singular)
ഈയലുകൾക്ക് (dative plural)
ഈയലിന്റെ (genitive singular)
ഈയലുകളുടെ (genitive plural)
ഈയലിൽ (locative singular)
ഈയലുകളിൽ (locative plural)
ഈയലിനോട് (singular sociative)
ഈയലുകളോട് (plural sociative)
ഈയലിനാൽ (instrumental singular)
ഈയലുകളാൽ (instrumental plural)

Cognate with Kannada ಈಚಲು (īcalu), Tamil ஈசல் (īcal) and Telugu ఉసిల్లు (usillu).

alate; The winged reproductive form of termites.


Kalotermes

Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful”) + Termes

affix

A taxonomic genus within the family Kalotermitidae – certain termites.