terebrant
/ˈtɛɹəbɹənt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of an insect: that bores holes; specifically, of the suborder Terebrantia of thrips which bore using their ovipositors.
adj
Of pain: resembling the sensation of being bored into or pierced.
noun
An insect that bores (“makes holes”); a borer; specifically, one belonging to the Terebrantia suborder of thrips which bore using their ovipositors.
Example Sentences
- "The other terebrant hymenoptera feed in the same state either on larvæ, caterpillars particularly, of which they gnaw the interior, without attacking the essential principle of life at first, or on nymphs or eggs of insects, bodies in which they have been deposited under this last form by the mother."
Etymology
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin terebrantem, the accusative masculine or feminine singular of terebrāns, the present active participle of terebrō (“to bore through, perforate, pierce”), from terebra (“instrument for boring, borer, gimlet”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Terebra is derived from ter(ō) (“to rub; to wear away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to drill, pierce; to rub; to turn”)) + -bra (suffix denoting an instrument, forming nouns). The noun is either derived from the adjective, or is a back-formation from Terebrantia (“suborder of thrips”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *terh₁-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtɛɹəbɹənt/
- British English: /ˈtɛɹəbɹənt/