clock

en-noun

clock (countable and uncountable, plural clocks)

First use appears c. 1370. Middle English clokke, clok, cloke, from Middle Dutch clocke (“bell, clock”), from Old Dutch *klokka, from Medieval Latin clocca, probably of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos (“bell”) (compare Welsh cloch, Old Irish cloc), either onomatopoeic or from Proto-Indo-European *klek- (“to laugh, cackle”) (compare Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną (“to laugh”)). Related to Old English clucge, Dutch klok, Saterland Frisian Klokke (“bell; clock”), Low German Klock (“bell, clock”), German Glocke, Swedish klocka Doublet of cloak and cloche.

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

сахӏат

instrument to measure or keep track of time

chronometer

instrument used to measure or keep track of time

even a stopped clock is right twice a day

I can't go off to lunch yet: I'm still on the clock.

We let the guys use the shop's tools and equipment for their own projects as long as they're off the clock.


unicorn

From Middle English unicorne, unikorn, from Anglo-Norman unicorne, Old French unicorne, and their source, Latin ūnicornis, from ūnus (“one”) + cornū (“horn”). Other senses from either rarity (e.g., possessing multiple skills) or by physical resemblance to having a horn (e.g., howitzer). The finance sense was coined by American investor Aileen Lee and first used in a 2013 article.

God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the ſtrength of an Vnicorne: he ſhall eate vp the nations his enemies, and ſhall breake their bones, and pierce them thorow with his arrowes.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 24:8, column 1:

רְאֵם ראם#Hebrew

(historical) In various Bible translations, used to render the Latin unicornis or rhinoceros (representing Hebrew רְאֵם): a reem or wild ox.

Any large beetle having a horn-like prominence on the head or prothorax, especially the Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus.

But I also think, “They’re looking for a unicorn — a magical designer who can solve all their problems.” It’s too bad unicorns don’t exist. … I have never met a designer who is an expert in all those skill areas. … Even if you find a unicorn designer with all those skills, actually doing all those things at your company is a huge amount of work.

2011 November 1, Braden Kowitz, “Hiring a designer: hunting the unicorn”, in Google Ventures:

He believes that good data scientists, “otherwise known as unicorn data scientists,” have three types of expertise.

2015 October 3, Gil Press, “These Are The Skills You Need To (Eventually) Become A $240,000+ Unicorn Data Scientist”, in Forbes:

en:someone or something rare and hard to find

en:person with so much multidisciplinary expertise as to be rare

Someone or something that is rare and hard to find.

(business) A person with multidisciplinary expertise, especially a laundry list of three or more skills in a young field such as UX design or data science (e.g., domain knowledge, statistics, and software engineering).

Coordinate term: decacorn

As the price of Web hosting plummeted and PCs and cell phones proliferated, college and grad-school dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page and Sergey Brin could suddenly conjure unicorns on their laptops.

2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker:

In May 2016, out of 163 global unicorns, China had 31, with a total valuation of $154 billion or about 26 percent of global unicorn valuation.

2017, Pongsak Hoontrakul, Economic Transformation and Business Opportunities in Asia, Springer, →ISBN, page 273:

(finance) A startup company whose valuation has exceeded one billion U.S. dollars, which is solely backed by venture capitalists, and which has yet to have an IPO.


unicorn

en-verb

unicorn (third-person singular simple present unicorns, present participle unicorning, simple past and past participle unicorned)

unicorns (present singular third-person)
unicorning (participle present)
unicorned (participle past)
unicorned (past)

Since Waze, Soluto and Onavo, both Israeli startups, have had great exits in consumer tech, and Wix “unicorned” through its IPO.

2014 November 3, Itay Hod, “The Airbnb of Home-Cooked Meals”, in Daily Beast:

For eager investors looking to score in a future IPO, the eight still-private martech unicorns might be tempting. That list includes Domo, Slack, Sprinklr, Shopify, and EventBrite, all of which have “unicorned,” or surpassed the billion-dollar valuation mark, in the past year or two.

2015 April 30, John Koetsier, “29 martech unicorns: There are now almost 30 $1B+ marketing technology vendors”, in Venture Beat:

For instance, at the same time as Intercom was announcing its unicorning moment, a young Dublin tech company called Let's Get Checked (letsgetchecked.com) raised €10m in a funding round.

2018 April 1, Adrian Weckler, “Admit it: Irish tech is on the up”, in The Independent:

(finance) To exceed a valuation of one billion U.S. dollars, while solely backed by venture capitalists.


scarab

→ Irish: scarab

→ Welsh: sgarab

From Middle French scarabée, from Latin scarabaeus (“beetle”). Doublet of scarabaeus, now obsolete.

The scarab, which is a very small one, Leo had insisted upon having set in a massive gold ring, such as is generally used for signets, and it was this very ring that I now picked up.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

A symbol, seal, amulet, or gem fashioned to resemble the sacred beetle.


dung beetle

"They went in together. His was accepted and mine rejected. The title of his paper was 'The Reproductive System of the Dung-Beetle'." There was a general laugh.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

What do dung beetles do? Adults and larvae of dung beetles feed only on dung and therefore are not a threat to the environment. This is in contrast to some other beetles found in dung pads, (not dung beetles) which feed on vegetable and other matter besides dung, while others are carnivorous. The activity of adult dung beetles can break up the dung pad, and most species bury the dung in the ground for feeding and breeding.

1990, Marina Tyndale-Biscoe, Common Dung Beetles in Pastures of South-eastern Australia, [Collingwood, Vic.?]: Division of Entomology, CSIRO Publishing, →ISBN, page 2:

And then there are dung beetles, feces-eaters extraordinaire. The sacred dung scarab of Egypt symbolized resurrection and immortality, explaining why the ancient Egyptians often placed these beetles in tombs with the dead and why they painted dung beetle figures on their sarcophagi.

2005, Marty [Martha L.] Crump, Headless Males Make Great Lovers: And Other Unusual Natural Histories, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 73:

Some dung beetles, called rollers, use their back legs to roll dung into a smooth, tiny ball. […] The ancient Egyptians believed that the sun was rolled across the sky by a giant dung beetle named Khepri.

2010, Aaron Reynolds, The Dung Beetle Bandits, London: Raintree Publishers, →ISBN:

Without dung beetles, the world would be a dirtier place. Animal dung can carry parasites and other germs that can make livestock sick. Farmers and ranchers need dung beetles to keep their pastures clean. Dung beetles clear away 80 percent of the cow manure in the whole of Texas.

2014, Emma Carlson Berne, Dung Beetles: Stronger than Ten Men! (Animal Superpowers), New York, N.Y.: PowerKiDS Press, →ISBN, page 22:

Any of the beetle of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles), especially of the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae, noted for rolling dung into balls for use as food or as brooding chambers.

Any of the true dung beetles of subfamily Scarabaeinae.


rhinoceros beetle

en-noun

rhinoceros beetle (plural rhinoceros beetles)

Named from its horn, reminiscent of the rhinoceros.

Any of various tropical beetles, of the subfamily Dynastinae, having horns on the head and thorax; a pest on coconuts.


stag beetle

Any of numerous large beetles of the family Lucanidae, the males having elaborate mandibles resembling the antlers of a stag

Lucanus cervus
Lucanus cervus#Translingual

especially, the largest beetle in the UK, of species Lucanus cervus.


dor

From Middle English dorre, dore, from Old English dora (“humming insect”), from Proto-West Germanic *dorō, from Proto-Germanic *durô (“bumblebee, humming insect”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-, *dʰrēn- (“bee, hornet, drone”). Related to Saterland Frisian Doarne (“hornet”), Middle Low German dorne (“bumblebee”), Middle Dutch dorne (“bumblebee”), Dutch dar (“drone”), Old English drān (“drone”). More at drone.

inh

Any of species Geotrupes stercorarius of large European dung beetles, that make a droning noise while flying.


stag

en-noun

stag (countable and uncountable, plural stags)

From Middle English stagge, steg, from Old English stagga, stacga (“a stag”) and Old Norse steggi, steggr (“a male animal”), both from Proto-Germanic *staggijô, *staggijaz (“male, male deer, porcupine”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ-, *stengʰ- (“to sting; rod, blade; sharp, stiff”). Cognate with Icelandic steggi, steggur (“tomcat, male fox”). Related to staggard, staggon.

The stag will be held in the hotel's ballroom.

(countable) A social event for men held in honor of a groom on the eve of his wedding, attended by male friends of the groom; sometimes a fundraiser.


Hercules

head

Hercules (plural Herculeses or Hercules or (obsolete) Herculesses or (obsolete) Hercules's)

Herculeses (plural)
Hercules (plural)
Herculesses (obsolete plural)
Hercules's (obsolete plural)

From Latin Herculēs, from Etruscan 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς (Hēraklês), apparently cognate of Ἥρα (Hḗra, “Hera”) and, according to Haudry, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥ (“year, season”) + κλέος (kléos, “glory”).

der

Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County#English

A city in Contra Costa County, California, United States.


roller

→ Welsh: rholer

* From Middle English rollere, equivalent to roll + -er.
* (credits in TV or film): These were originally printed on a physical cylinder that was rotated in front of the camera.


cockchafer

/ˈkɒkˌt͡ʃeɪfɚ/

From cock (“male bird”) + chafer (“beetle”). The Oxford English Dictionary speculates that the name may relate to a resemblance of antennae to coxcomb, or to the beetle’s size. Compare French hanneton (“cockchafer”), ultimately from Frankish *hanō (“rooster”). Attested from the late seventeenth century.

To the person who shall discover to the Society an effectual method, verified by repeated and satisfactory trials, of destroying the Grub of the Cockchafer, so destructive to the roots of all sorts of Corn, Pease, Beans, and Turneps, the gold medal.

1793, “Premiums offered by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, in the year MDCCLXXXVI”, in Transactions of the Society Instituted at London, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, volume 4, page 294:

His impassioned words buzzed about my ears like cockchafers round the top of the lime-trees.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 250:

With regard to the playing of the female part by the weaker rats it is interesting to observe that Féré found among insects that the passive part in homosexual relations is favored by fatigue; among cockchafers it was the male just separated from the female who would take the passive part (on the rare occasions when homosexual relations occurred) with a fresh male.

1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, volume 2:

Any of the large European beetles from the genus Melolontha that are destructive to vegetation.


dumbledore

Compound of dumble (similar to bumble) + dor (“a buzzing flying insect”).

compound

“Miserable dumbledores!” / “Right, William, and so they be—miserable dumbledores!” said the choir with unanimity.

1872, [Thomas Hardy], chapter 4, in Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Tinsley Brothers, →OCLC, (please specify |part=I to V):


doodlebug

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-doodlebug.wav

Soon after Richard was adopted, Orwell's flat was wrecked by a doodlebug.

2009, Robert McCrum, The masterpiece that killed George Orwell:

(informal, British) The V-1 flying bomb.

(historical, "doodlebug tractor") An automobile converted into a cheap tractor for a small farm during the Second World War.

(entomology) An antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae).

(entomology, UK) A cockchafer (genus Melolontha).

(obsolete) Individual self-propelled train cars.


scarab beetle

Scarabaeus sacer
Scarabaeus sacer#Translingual

Any of very many beetles, of the family Scarabaeidae, especially Scarabaeus sacer regarded as sacred by the ancient Egyptians


Hercules beetle

en-noun

Hercules beetle (plural Hercules beetles)

In reference to the great strength of Hercules in myth.

A type of rhinoceros beetle, Dynastes hercules known for its considerable strength and for being one of the longest insects in the world.


rose chafer

A tan-colored beetle, Macrodactylus subspinosus, found in North America.


phanaeine

(zoology) Any of several dung beetles of the genus Phanaeus.


lamellicorn

From French lamellicorne, from Latin lamella (“a thin plate”) + cornu (“a horn”).

(entomology, of beetles) Having such antennae.


scarabaeid

From Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos, “horned beetle”), via Latin scarabaeus.

uder

(zoology, entomology) Any beetle of the family Scarabaeidae (which includes stag- and dung-beetles).


scarabaeoid

Any beetle of the superfamily Scarabaeoidea


chafer

From Middle English chafur, chavere, from Old English ċeafor, from Proto-West Germanic *kefrō (“beetle”). Cognate with German Käfer and Dutch kever.

He who torments the Chafers sprite
Weaves a Bower in endleſs Night

c. 1803, William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence” in the Pickering Manuscript

Any of several scarab beetles, including the cockchafer, leaf chafer, and rose chafer.


Japanese beetle

en-noun

Japanese beetle (plural Japanese beetles)

A beetle of species Popillia japonica, with iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head, an invasive pest outside of Japan.


hornbug

(dated) Any of several species of genus Lucanus of large nocturnal beetles, with long, curved upper jaws resembling a sickle, and whose grubs are found in the trunks of old trees.


Goliath beetle

A very large cetoniid beetle of the genus Goliathus.


cetoniid

(zoology) Any of the beetle subfamily Cetoniinae (family Scarabaeidae).


scarabee

From one of the upper buttonholes dangled a thin gold chain, supporting a bunch of small charms against the evil eye, a little coral horn, a tiny silver hunchback, a miniature gilt bell, and two or three coins of gold and silver, besides an Egyptian scarabee in a gold setting.

We too, who mock at Israel's golden calf And scoff at Egypt's sacred scarabee, Would have our amulets to clasp and kiss, And flood with rapturous tears, and bear with us To be our dear companions in the dust, Such magic works an image in our souls!

1882, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Poet at the Breakfast Table:

From college to the farm-house where I dwelt I took my books, friends who are never cold, With fragile instruments of chemistry, And cabinets of mineral and rock With limestone encrinites; asterias Old as the mountains, or the sea's white lash Wherewith he smites the shoulders of the shore; Tarentula and scarabee I brought, And, too, I brought my diamond microscope Which magnifies a pin's head to a man's, And gives me sights in water and in air The naturalists have not yet touched upon.


black beetle

Darwin's black beetle - Lissopterus quadrinotatus

The oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis (a large roach from the family Blattidae).

(New Zealand) Maoriblatta novaeseelandiae (syn. Platyzosteria novae-zelandiae), a similar roach native to New Zealand; Maori bug.

A common name for many species of beetle that are black in color, including:

An African black beetle, Heteronychus arator, a serious pest of grasses in New Zealand.

An Asiatic rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, a pest of palm trees in tropical Asia.

An member of the European species, Pterostichus nigrita (syn. Feronia nigrita).


scaraboid

en-adj

scaraboid (comparative more scaraboid, superlative most scaraboid)

more scaraboid (comparative)
most scaraboid (superlative)

(coleopterology, entomology) Of or pertaining to the family Scarabaeidae, an extensive group which includes the Egyptian scarab, the tumbledung, and many similar lamellicorn beetles.


fig-eater

A large beetle (Cotinis nitida) which has elytra that are velvety green with pale borders, which ranges from eastern Canada to central Texas, and which in the southern United States destroys figs.

A beetle (Cotinis mutabilis) which ranges from central Texas across the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Sylvia hortensis
Sylvia hortensis#Translingual

A bird (Sylvia hortensis) that feeds on figs and grapes, and that people eat as a delicacy.


dynastid

(zoology) Any beetle in the family Dynastidae, now considered to be the scarabaeid subfamily Dynastinae.


geotrupid

(zoology) Any in the family Geotrupidae of earth-boring dung beetles.


glaphyrid

(zoology) Any beetle in the family Glaphyridae.


glaresid

(zoology) Any beetle in the family Glaresidae.


hybosorid

(zoology) Any beetle in the family Hybosoridae.


lucanid

(zoology) Any member of the family Lucanidae.


ochodaeid

(zoology) Any beetle in the family Ochodaeidae.


passalid

(zoology) Any member of the family Passalidae of beetles.


Christmas beetle

en-noun

Christmas beetle (plural Christmas beetles)

(Australia, informal) any of the beetles of the genus Anoplognathus


common cockchafer

common cockchafer (plural common cockchafers)

A cockchafer of species Melolontha melolontha.


goldsmith beetle

goldsmith beetle (plural goldsmith beetles)

Cetonia aurata, a beetle with metallic green colouration and a distinct V-shaped scutellum.


elephant beetle

elephant beetle (plural elephant beetles)

Megasoma elephas, a large rhinoceros beetle.


June bug

Phyllophaga, a genus of beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae of the family Scarabaeidae, also known as June beetles.

green June beetle (Cotinis nitida), of the southeastern United States

ten-lined June beetle
ten-lined June beetle

ten-lined June beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata), of the western United States and Canada

fig-eater or figeater beetle (Cotinis mutabilis), of the western and southwestern United States

European chafer (Rhizotrogus majalis/Amphimallon majalis), a beetle native to continental Europe, but now also in North America


June beetle

Any of several scarab beetles that appear around June in temperate parts of North America.

no equivalent collective term for all species covered exists in Finnish


bee beetle

Any of the scarab beetles of the subfamily Trichiinae.


aphodiid

The aphodiids dominate dung in northern temperate zones.

2017, Richard Jones, Call of Nature: The Secret Life of Dung:

(zoology) Any beetle of the subfamily Aphodiinae (family Scarabaeidae).


melolonthid

In wetter periods Scarabaeidae dominated light trap catches, particularsubly rutelids and melolonthids.

2003, Koen Martens, Aquatic Biodiversity: A Celebratory Volume in Honour of Henri J. Dumont:

(zoology) Any beetle of the subfamily Melolonthinae.


grass grub

(New Zealand) A grub, of species Costelytra zealandica, that attacks the roots of grass causing pasture damage, regarded as an agricultural pest.


scarabid

Any scarab beetle of the family Scarabaeidae


aphodiine

Of or pertaining to the Aphodiinae, a subfamily of scarab beetles.


scarabaeiform

Clipping of translingual Scarabaeiformia

clipping

translingual <i class="Latn mention" lang="mul">Scarabaeiformia</i>

Any beetle of the infraorder Scarabaeiformia


bum-clock

From bum + clock, from bum (“to buzz”) and clock (“type of beetle”).


amphistomid

Any scarab beetle of the genus Amphistomus


melolonthine

(zoology) Belonging to the Melolonthinae, a subfamily of scarab beetles.


ruteline

(zoology) Belonging to the Rutelinae, a subfamily of scarab beetles.


scarabaeine

Any of the subfamily Scarabaeinae of dung beetles.


endocoprid

A dung beetle that nests and lays eggs within a ball of dung


deltochiline

Any scarab beetle of the tribe Deltochilini


aclopine

Any scarab beetle of the subfamily Aclopinae


paracoprid

Any dung beetle that excavates below a pile of dung


telecoprid

Any dung beetle that rolls a pile of dung


kleptocoprid

Any dung beetle that steals a pile of dung from a telecoprid


Bess bug

(US) Any of various beetles of the family Passalidae.


Bess beetle

(US) Any member of the family Passalidae of beetles.


black-headed pasture cockchafer

en-noun

black-headed pasture cockchafer (plural black-headed pasture cockchafers)

black-headed pasture cockchafers (plural)

A small black beetle, Acrossidius tasmaniae, native to southeastern Australia and Tasmania; a crop and pasture pest.


Tasmanian grass grub

Tasmanian grass grub (plural Tasmanian grass grubs)

black-headed pasture cockchafer
black-headed pasture cockchafer


green June beetle

green June beetle (plural green June beetles)

Cotinis nitida, a species of beetle found in the eastern United States and Canada.


green fruit beetle

green fruit beetle (plural green fruit beetles)

Often mistaken for their smaller relative the Japanese beetle, green fruit beetles feed on fruit trees.

2011 June 22, Katherine Barrington, “How to Kill the Green Fruit Beetle”, in Garden Guides:

Since these pests are attracted to the smell of ripe fruit, harvest frequently. Also, you can plant crops that ripen earlier in the season to avoid feeding green fruit beetles.

2015 July 15, “Green Fruit Beetle”, in The Daily Garden:

A beetle (Cotinis mutabilis) that ranges from central Texas across the southwestern United States and Mexico and feeds on cactus, desert trees, and cultivated fruit.


European chafer

European chafer (plural European chafers)

A beetle, Amphimallon majale, native to continental Europe, now an invasive species in North America.


rose beetle

Synonym of rose chafer (“Macrodactylus subspinosus”)


flower chafer

Any scarabaeoid beetle in the subfamily Cetoniinae, of more than 500 genera.


passaloid

(entomology, rare) Any member of the Passaloidea superfamily of beetles.


dynastine

(zoology) Any beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae, the rhinoceros beetles.


ten-lined June beetle

ten-lined June beetle (plural ten-lined June beetles)

Polyphylla decemlineata, a scarab beetle found in the western United States and Canada.


watermelon beetle

watermelon beetle (plural watermelon beetles)

ten-lined June beetle
ten-lined June beetle#English


Atlas beetle

Chalcosoma atlas, a very large scarabaeid beetle of Southeast Asia, the males having three prominent horns.


Oriental beetle

Oriental beetle (plural Oriental beetles)

Anomala orientalis, a kind of shining leaf chafer native to Asia.


cane beetle

A species of beetle, Dermolepida albohirtum


ox beetle

From ox + beetle, from its large size and the males' horns.

Strategus aloeus, a large species of New World rhinoceros beetles.