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Chambers (1908)

Insect

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[Fr.,—L. insectum, pa.p. of insecāre—in, into, secāre, to cut.]

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Insect, in′sekt, n. a word loosely used for a small creature, as a wasp or fly, with a body as if cut in the middle, or divided into sections: (zool.) an arthropod, usually winged in adult life, breathing air by means of tracheæ, and having frequently a metamorphosis in the life-history.—adj. like an insect: small: mean.—ns. Insectār′ium, a place where a collection of living insects is kept; Insec′ticide, act of killing insects.—adjs. Insec′tiform, Insec′tile, having the nature of an insect.—ns. Insec′tifuge, a substance which protects against insects; Insec′tion, an incision; In′sect-net, a light hand-net for catching insects; In′sect-pow′der, a dry powder used for stupefying and killing fleas and other insects, an insecticide or insectifuge. [Fr.,—L. insectum, pa.p. of insecāre—in, into, secāre, to cut.]

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Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language
Thomas Davidson (editor)
1908

Public-domain-US ↗ · United States

Publisher marks these historical texts public domain in the USA. Transformed book text excludes Gutenberg branding; source attribution is a bibliographic acknowledgment. No non-US public-domain determination is made.

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