wasp
See also: WASP
English
Etymology 1
a wasp
From Middle English wasp, waspe, waps, from Old English wæsp, wæps (“wasp”), from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wobʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“weave”) (referring to the insect's woven nests). Compare Dutch wesp, German Wespe, Danish hveps. The metathesis of s and p reflects a process of some generality in Old English, cf. ascian ~ acsian (“to ask”); here, Latin vespa (“wasp”) (also a cognate- cf. Old French wespe) may have helped tilt the scales in favour of -sp.
Noun
wasp (plural wasps)
- Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
- (entomology) Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila).
- Any of the members of the family Vespidae.
- A person who behaves in an angry or insolent way, hence waspish.
Derived terms
- baeine wasp (Scelionidae)
- bone-house wasp (Deuteragenia ossarium)
- braconine wasp (Braconidae)
- chalcid wasp (Chalcidoidea)
- cockroach wasp (Ampulicidae)
- common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- cuckoo wasp (Chrysididae)
- digger wasp (Sphecidae)
- encyrtid wasp (Encyrtidae)
- ensign wasp (Evaniidae)
- Euro wasp (Dolichovespula media)
- fig wasp (Agaonidae)
- crown wasp (Stephanidae)
- gall wasp (Cynipidae)
- German wasp (Vespula germanica)
- gold wasp (Chrysididae)
- ichneumon wasp (Ichneumonidae)
- jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa)
- long-tailed wasp (Megalyridae)
- mason wasp (Eumeninae)
- media wasp, median wasp (Dolichovespula media)
- mutillid wasp (Mutillidae)
- paper wasp (Vespidae)
- pelecinid wasp (Pelecinidae)
- platygastrid wasp (Platygastroidea)
- pollen wasp (Vespidae)
- potter wasp (Eumeninae)
- sand wasp (genus Ammophila, in family Sphecidae, or tribe Bembicini, in family Crabronidae)
- scelionid wasp (Scelionidae)
- scolliid wasp (Scolliidae)
- sea wasp (orders Carybdeida, Chirodropida)
- social wasp (Vespinae)
- soul-sucking wasp (Ampulex dementor)
- spider wasp (Pompilidae)
- stephanid wasp (Stephanidae)
- tiphiid wasp (Tiphiidae)
- vespid wasp (Vespidae)
- vespoid wasp (Vespoidea)
- wasp beetle (Clytus arietis)
- wasp moth (Ctenuchini)
- wasp-nest beetle (Metoecus paradoxus)
- waspie
- waspish
- wasplike
- wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi)
- wasp waist
- wasp-waisted
- waspy
- wood wasp (suborder Symphyta)
Descendants
- Sranan Tongo: waswasi (reduplicated)
Translations
insect
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Etymology 2
Originally an acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English wæps, wæsp, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wobʰséh₂.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwasp/
References
- “wasp (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-17.
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