ant

Meanings

Noun

• Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.
• A Web spider.

Verb

• To rub insects, especially ants, on one's body, perhaps to control parasites or clean feathers.

Related

Similar words

• emmet , pismire

Narrower meaning words

• army ant, black garden ant, bull ant, carpenter ant, fire ant, garden ant, honey-pot ant, leafcutter ant, pharaoh ant, piss ant, red ant, sauba ant, thief ant, wood ant

Origin

• From Middle English ampte, amte, emete, amete, from Old English ǣmette, from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā, from Proto-Germanic *ē- + *maitaną, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂y-. Cognate with Scots emmot, dialectal Dutch emt, empt, German Ameise and Emse. See also emmet.