earwig

From Middle English erwigge, from Old English ēarwicga, from ēare (“ear”) + wicga (“insect”), so named from a popular belief that they are able to penetrate a person's head through the ear.

"That's a fine young fellow," said the historiographer of earwigs, to an American who stood next him in the crowd.

1856, L. S. Lavenu, chapter XVII, in Erlesmere; or, Contrasts of Character, volume 1, London: Smith, Elder & Co., page 171:

The idea was probably strengthened by the earwig′s appearance, with a sharp, pincer-like appendage extending to the rear. However, earwigs are herbivores, and they are no more likely to enter an ear than are ants, bees, flies, or any other small insect. Even when earwigs do occasionally find their way into human ears, they cannot burrow their way through the skin and into the brain.

2001, Jan Harold Brunvand, Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, page 128:

2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, Nuthatch, entry in International Wildlife Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, page 1762,
Nuthatches search the crevices of bark at other times during the year for insects, including beetles, earwigs, flies and bugs, and they open galls (swellings in plants) to extract grubs.

2008, John L. Capinera (editor), European Earwig, Forficula auricularia, Linnaeus (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), entry in Encyclopedia of Entomology, page 1370,
Adults can use the cerci in defense, twisting the abdomen forward over the head or sideways to engage an enemy, often another earwig. Earwigs are nocturnal, spending the day hidden under leaf debris, in cracks and crevices, and in other dark locations.

Any of various insects of the order Dermaptera that have elongated bodies, large membranous wings folded underneath short leathery forewings and a pair of large pincers protruding from the rear of the abdomen.

אויערוואָרעם (Oyerverm, literally “Ear worm”)


earworm

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-earworm.wav

/ˈɪ(ə)ɹˌwɚm/

From ear + worm; senses 1 and 3 (“tune that keeps replaying in one’s head”; “earwig”) are a calque of German Ohrwurm (“tune that pops up in one’s memory all the time; earwig”) (from the idea of a creature burrowing into the ear, an erroneous belief where earwigs are concerned), while sense 2 (“moth larva”) refers to the fact that these pests infest, among other things, ears of maize or sweet corn.

calque

The chorus [of "Meeting in the Ladies Room" by Klymaxx] spawned an earworm so potent that women still mutter it as they exit for a bathroom break twenty years later.

2005, “Klymaxx: Meeting in the Ladies Room (Constellation, 1984)”, in Kim Cooper, David Smay, editors, Lost in the Grooves: Scram’s Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 132:

"It's been haunting me," she said. / "Yeah, well," he said, weakly. "Sometimes tunes do that." [...] "I don't mean that I heard it once before and caught an earworm. [...]"

2005, Brain Stableford, chapter 2, in Kiss the Goat: A Twenty-first Century Ghost Story, Holicong, Pa.: Prime Books, →ISBN, pages 15–16:

My Mom has a special gift—or curse—depending on how you look at it. She suffers from ear worms. That's when you have songs runnin' around in your head and can't shut them off. All day long, at the ranch, Mom would go about her work, singin' and whistlin'.

2007, John Garate, “Tell a Story in Song”, in Stories from the Living Room: A Golden Heritage from the Old West, 2nd edition, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 81:

Earworms are the virological vectors onto which sonic branding latches. [...] A commonly cited species within memetics, the earworm is the catchy tune that you cannot get out of your head, the vocal refrain, the infectious rhythm or the addictive riff.

2009, Steve Goodman, “1971: The Earworm”, in Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear (Technologies of Lived Abstraction), Cambridge, Mass., London: MIT Press, →ISBN, page 147:

She does not regard her ear-worms as anything other than an incidental irritant in her life. Unlike Jane, I have an ear-worm all the time – literally all the time – from the moment I wake up to the moment I zonk out; [...]

2012, Nick Coleman, chapter 22, in The Train in the Night: A Story of Music and Loss, Berkeley, Calif.: Counterpoint, published 2013, →ISBN, page 236:

And with the way he's turned our music into my own personal ear worm, I think I'm actually getting this artistry thing he keeps yammering on about.

2014, Lauren Morrill, “Sloane Devon”, in Being Sloane Jacobs, New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →ISBN, page 256:

A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.

but see pegadizo (as in "canción pegadiza", "melodía pegadiza", "estribillo pegadizo")

I had planned in mind to tell you [...] how I protected, that is, guaranteed, Evergreen sweet corn against the bud worm and the ear worm; [...]

1924 January–March, Martin V. Calvin, “Agricultural Research”, in Annual Report of Georgia Department of Agriculture for 1923 (Quarterly Bulletin of the Georgia Department of Agriculture; serial no. 95), Atlanta, Ga.: Georgia Department of Agriculture, →OCLC, page 44:

The number of bollworms or ear worms increases greatly as the season advances. This indicates a need for hastening the maturity of all crops affected.

1929 June, F[red] C[ory] Bishopp, “Control Measures”, in The Bollworm or Corn Ear Worm as a Cotton Pest (U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin; no. 1595), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, →OCLC, page 7:

Encouraging progress is being made, however, in the search for and utilization of earworm-resistant strains of both field and sweet corn. We mentioned the protection of ears from earworms, weevils, and grain moths by tight husks that extend beyond the tip of the ear.

1952, C. M. Packard, John H. Martin, “Resistant Crops, the Ideal Way”, in Alfred Stefferud, editor, The Yearbook of Agriculture 1952: Insects, Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture; United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 434, column 1:

The fall armyworm and the corn earworm attack sweet corn as earworms. [...] Although they may sometimes eat through the husk to attack the side of the ear, most earworms feed on the silks and enter through the silk channel to attack the tip of the ear. The earworm population may be almost completely composed of corn earworms or of fall armyworms, or of a mixture of the two species.

1967 February, Victor L. Guzman et al., “Insects and Their Control”, in Sweet Corn Production on the Organic and Sandy Soils of Florida (Bulletin (Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Florida); no. 714), Gainesville, Fla.: Agricultural Experiment Stations, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, →OCLC, pages 27–28:

A single earworm may seriously damage or destroy the bud of a cole crop plant, causing the plant to be disfigured or to produce several secondary buds. Earworms may disfigure the heads of cabbage plants by their feeding and tunneling [...].

1980 October, C. S. Creighton, J. E. Halfhill, “Caterpillars and How They Damage Plants”, in Control of Caterpillars on Cabbage and Other Cole Crops (United States Department of Agriculture Farmers' Bulletin; no. 2271), Washington, D.C.: Science and Education Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, →OCLC, page 10, column 2:

[I]nsects exert undesirable influence on tropical maize production, with stem borers, ear worms and weevils being the most ubiquitous groups.

1984, J. M. Fajemisin, S. K. Kim, Y. Efron, M. S. Alam, “Breeding for Durable Disease Resistance in Tropical Maize with Special Reference to Maize Streak Virus”, in Breeding for Durable Disease and Pest Resistance […] (FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper; 55), Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization, published 1985, →ISBN, page 49:

(originally US) Short for corn earworm (“larva of the moths Helicoverpa zea (syn. Heliothis zea) and Helicoverpa armigera, which are agricultural pests”).

corn earworm

Earwig, [...] The ear-worm or grub, a well-known insect, with large transparent wings, which eats fruit and flower-leaves, and has been erroneously supposed to creep into the human brain through the ear; [...]

1865, John Ogilvie, “Earwig”, in The Student’s English Dictionary, Etymological, Pronouncing, & Explanatory: […], London, Edinburgh: Blackie and Son, […], →OCLC, page 270, column 2:

Foreign Bodies in the Ear. [...] The ear-worm (forficula auricula), so much dreaded by people, occasions no special danger, but behaves in the ear in as harmless a manner as all other living animalcula of that calibre.

1870, Alfred Vogel, translated by H. Raphael, A Practical Treatise of the Diseases of Children. […], New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, […], →OCLC, page 435:

(archaic) An earwig (“insect of the order Dermaptera”).


perce-oreille

fr-noun

perce-oreille m (plural perce-oreilles or perce-oreille)

perce-oreilles (plural)
perce-oreille (plural)

From perce (“pierces”) + oreille (“ear”).


common European earwig

en-noun

common European earwig (plural common European earwigs)

A earwig that is destructive to cultivated bulbs (Forficula auricularius).


dermaptère

dermapteran; earwig (any insect of the order Dermaptera)


dermapteran

Any of various insects of the order Dermaptera; earwig.


forficula

Borrowed from Latin forficula (“small scissors”). Doublet of forfecchia.


forfecchia

Inherited from Latin forficula (“small pair of scissors; earwig”). Doublet of forficula.


anisolabidid

Any in the family Anisolabididae of earwigs.


arixeniid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Arixeniidae.


carcinophorid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Carcinophoridae.


chelisochid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Chelisochidae.


forficulid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Forficulidae


hemimerid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Hemimeridae.


labiid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Labiidae.


labidurid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Labiduridae.


pygidicranid

(zoology) Any earwig in the family Pygidicranidae.


common brown earwig

en-noun

common brown earwig (plural common brown earwigs)

Any of species Labidura truncata of earwig, native to Australia.


maritime earwig

maritime earwig (plural maritime earwigs)

An earwig of species Anisolabis maritima, found near the shoreline.


common earwig

A earwig of species Forficula auricularia, native to Europe but now cosmopolitan.


battle-twig

An' the wool of a thistle a-flyin' an' seeädin' tha haäted to see;
 'Twur as bad as a battle-twig 'ere i' my oän blue chaumber to me.

1885, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Spinster's Sweet-Arts”, in Tiresias, and Other Poems, page 111:

1929 D. H. Lawrence, Up He Goes! (from Pansies) in The Complete Poems, page 553 https://books.google.com/books?id=dHB_YjKlyIgC&lpg=PA66&dq=%22battle-twig%22&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q=%22battle-twig%22&f=false
There isn't a damn thing in 'em,
They're as empty as empty tins;
they haven't the spunk of a battle-twig,
an' all they can think of is sins.


ringlegged earwig

ringlegged earwig (plural ringlegged earwigs)

A flightless European earwig, Euborellia annulipes, with a dark band on each leg, introduced in North America and a number of other parts of the world.


حريش

ar-noun

حَرِيش • (ḥarīš) m (plural حُرُش (ḥuruš))

حَرِيش (canonical)
ḥarīš (romanization)
حُرُش (plural)
حَرِيش (indefinite informal singular triptote)
الْحَرِيش (definite informal singular triptote)
حَرِيش (construct informal singular triptote)
حَرِيشٌ (indefinite nominative singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشُ (definite nominative singular triptote)
حَرِيشُ (construct nominative singular triptote)
حَرِيشًا (accusative indefinite singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشَ (accusative definite singular triptote)
حَرِيشَ (accusative construct singular triptote)
حَرِيشٍ (genitive indefinite singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشِ (definite genitive singular triptote)
حَرِيشِ (construct genitive singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْن (dual indefinite informal singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشَيْن (definite dual informal singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْ (construct dual informal singular triptote)
حَرِيشَانِ (dual indefinite nominative singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشَانِ (definite dual nominative singular triptote)
حَرِيشَا (construct dual nominative singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْنِ (accusative dual indefinite singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشَيْنِ (accusative definite dual singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْ (accusative construct dual singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْنِ (dual genitive indefinite singular triptote)
الْحَرِيشَيْنِ (definite dual genitive singular triptote)
حَرِيشَيْ (construct dual genitive singular triptote)
حُرُش (broken-form indefinite informal plural triptote)
الْحُرُش (broken-form definite informal plural triptote)
حُرُش (broken-form construct informal plural triptote)
حُرُشٌ (broken-form indefinite nominative plural triptote)
الْحُرُشُ (broken-form definite nominative plural triptote)
حُرُشُ (broken-form construct nominative plural triptote)
حُرُشًا (accusative broken-form indefinite plural triptote)
الْحُرُشَ (accusative broken-form definite plural triptote)
حُرُشَ (accusative broken-form construct plural triptote)
حُرُشٍ (broken-form genitive indefinite plural triptote)
الْحُرُشِ (broken-form definite genitive plural triptote)
حُرُشِ (broken-form construct genitive plural triptote)

Not from the root ح ر ش (ḥ-r-š) related to “scratching” and “instigating” but from Ge'ez ሐሪሥ (ḥäriś, “rhinoceros”). Doublet of حُرْش (ḥurš, “forest”), see Hebrew חֹרֶשׁ (ḥóreš, “grove, thicket”).

ar-root

ح ر ش (ḥ-r-š)

ar:حريش (توضيح)


skorek

skorek (nominative singular)
skorki (nominative plural)
skorka (genitive singular)
skorków (genitive plural)
skorkowi (dative singular)
skorkom (dative plural)
skorka (accusative singular)
skorki (accusative plural)
skorkiem (instrumental singular)
skorkami (instrumental plural)
skorku (locative singular)
skorkach (locative plural)
skorku (singular vocative)
skorki (plural vocative)

earwig (any insect of the order Dermaptera)


clipshear

I looked over the stair-windows, however, and saw the back green, which smells of clipshears and clockers, as of yore.

1888, David Gray, Josephus Nelson Larned, Life, letters, poems, etc, page 7:

I also learned from my father how to drown baby mice in a rain barrel, crush a clipshear between my thumbnails, and assist in the skinning of a rabbit.

2004, Jennie Erdal, Ghosting: A Memoir, page 20:

Those tapestries were like a zoological garden, seething with slaters and clipshears.

2017, Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and a Spot of Toil and Trouble, →ISBN:


quitsjö tseon

[ki˥ t͜sˠhɔ̤˥˧ t͜sˠjõ̤˥˧]


щипалка

bg-noun

щипа́лка • (štipálka) f

щипа́лка (canonical)
štipálka (romanization)
щипа́лка (indefinite singular)
щипа́лки (indefinite plural)
щипа́лката (definite singular)
щипа́лките (definite plural)
щипа́лко (singular vocative)
щипа́лки (plural vocative)

bg-ndecl

щипа́лка<(v)>

щи́пя (štípja, “to pinch”) + -алка (-alka)

affix

earwig (dermapteran insect of family Forficulidae)


ухолазка

bg-noun

ухола́зка • (uholázka) f

ухола́зка (canonical)
uholázka (romanization)
ухола́зка (indefinite singular)
ухола́зки (indefinite plural)
ухола́зката (definite singular)
ухола́зките (definite plural)
ухола́зко (singular vocative)
ухола́зки (plural vocative)

bg-ndecl

ухола́зка<(v)>

From ухо (uho, “ear”) + ла́зя (lázja, “to creep”) + -ка (-ka), based on the common belief (not actually true) that earwigs may lay their eggs in human's ears. Compare similar names in English earwig (literally: “ear-bug”), French perce-oreille (literally: “ear-piercer”).


papaorelles

Verb-object compound, composed of papa (“to swallow”) + orelles (“ears”).


black earwig

Any earwig in the subfamily Chelisochinae.


szczypawka

szczypawka (nominative singular)
szczypawki (nominative plural)
szczypawki (genitive singular)
szczypawek (genitive plural)
szczypawce (dative singular)
szczypawkom (dative plural)
szczypawkę (accusative singular)
szczypawki (accusative plural)
szczypawką (instrumental singular)
szczypawkami (instrumental plural)
szczypawce (locative singular)
szczypawkach (locative plural)
szczypawko (singular vocative)
szczypawki (plural vocative)

Forficula auricularia
Wikispecies:Forficula auricularia

(colloquial) common earwig, European earwig (Forficula auricularia)


Anisolabididae

A taxonomic family within the superfamily Anisolabidoidea – anisolabidid earwigs.