termite

See also: Termite, and térmite

English

Termites

Etymology

From French termite, which is from Latin termites, plural of termes.

Also possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *term- (“drill”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɜː(ɹ).maɪt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)maɪt

Noun

termite (plural termites)

1. A white-bodied, wood-consuming insect of the infraorder Isoptera, in the order Blattodea.
   • 1802, Francis William Blagdon, Modern Discoveries; or, a Collection of facts and observations, volume IV, page 162:

     Linnæus describes this insect under the Latin name of Termes; and citizen Cuvier speaks of it under that of Termites. The vulgar call it by that of white ant, or fourmi vaguevague. The termites divide themselves into societies: each society builds itself a next, and each nest belongs to an innumerable quantity of these insects, who acknowledge for their chiefs a king and a queen.

2. A contemptible person.
   • 2019, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 31:

     This two faced termite has the nerve to talk.

Synonyms

• (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect): termes, white ant, wood ant

Derived terms

• compass termite
• dampwood termite
• Formosan termite
• magnetic termite
• termite bug
• termite of the sea
• turmite

 

Translations

insect

• Acehnese: kamuë
• Aklanon: anay
• Arabic: أَرَضَة f (ʔaraḍa)
• Armenian: տերմիտ (hy) (termit)
• Assamese: উঁই (ũi)
• Banjarese: urup
• Basque: termita
• Bau Bidayuh: tirupuod
• Belarusian: тэрмі́т m (termít)
• Bikol Central: aloy (bcl)
• Bulgarian: термит m (termit)
• Catalan: tèrmit m
• Cebuano: anay
• Central Melanau: belasuwuk
• Chamicuro: ma'lus̈hana
• Chepang: क्र्राः
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 白蟻／白蚁 (zh) (báiyǐ)

• Czech: termit (cs) m
• Danish: termitter c
• Dutch: termiet (nl) m
• Esperanto: termito
• Estonian: termiit
• Ewe: baba
• Finnish: termiitti (fi)
• French: termite (fr) m
• Galician: térmite (gl) m
• Georgian: თერმიტი (termiṭi)
• German: Termite (de) f
• Greek: τερμίτες (el) (termítes)
• Hausa: gàrā (ha)
• Hebrew: טרמיט
• Hiligaynon: anay
• Hindi: दीमक (hi) f (dīmak)
• Hungarian: termesz (hu)
• Icelandic: maur (is) m
• Ido: termito (io)
• Ilocano: anay
• Indonesian: rayap (id), anai-anai, semut putih (id)
• Italian: termite (it) m
• Japanese: シロアリ (ja) (shiro-ari), 白蟻 (ja) (しろあり, shiro-ari)
• Javanese: laron (jv)
• Kalagan: anay
• Kannada: ಗೆದ್ದಲು (kn) (geddalu)
• Kapampangan: ane
• Kazakh: аққұмырсқа (aqqūmyrsqa)
• Khmer: កណ្ដៀរ (km) (kɑndiə)
• Kikuyu: mũthũa class 3, nguya class 9/10 (winged)
• Kimaragang: tantanai
• Korean: 흰개미 (huin'gaemi)
• Lubuagan Kalinga: lakoy
• Malagasy: votry (mg)
• Malay: anai-anai, (winged, alate types) kelekatu
• Malayalam: ചിതൽ (ml) (cital)
• Mansaka: anay
• Navajo: tsinaʼayąʼii
• Norwegian: termitt m
• Occitan: termit (oc) m, formiga blanca f
• Persian: موریانه (fa)
• Polish: termit (pl) m
• Portuguese: térmite (pt) f, térmita f, cupim (pt) m (Brazil)
• Punjabi: ਸਓਂਕ f (saoṅka)
• Romanian: termită (ro) f
• Russian: терми́т (ru) m (termít)
• Serbo-Croatian: termit (sh) m
• Slovak: termit m
• Slovene: termit (sl) m
• Spanish: termes (es) m, comején (es) m, termita (es) f (polysemic), térmite f, anay (es) m (Philippines), sepe m (Bolivia)
• Sranan Tongo: uduloso
• Sundanese: ᮛᮤᮑᮥᮂ (rinyuh)
• Swahili: mchwa (sw)
• Swedish: termit (sv) c
• Tagal Murut: bubuk
• Tagalog: anay (tl), bukbok
• Tamil: கறையான் (ta) (kaṟaiyāṉ)
• Tatar: термит (termit)
• Tausug: anay
• Telugu: చెద (te) (ceda)
• Thai: ปลวก (th) (bplùuak)
• Tyap: cincai (kcg)
• Ukrainian: термі́т m (termít)
• Vietnamese: mối (vi)
• Volapük: tärmit
• West Coast Bajau: anei-anei
• Wolof: max mi (wo)
• Zazaki: mermor

Verb

termite (third-person singular simple present termites, present participle termiting, simple past and past participle termited)

1. (intransitive) Of a chimpanzee: to catch termites by inserting a stick or vine into their nest and waiting for them to climb up it.

Derived terms

• cathedral termite
• compass termite
• dampwood termite
• drywood termite
• magnetic termite
• meridian termite
• spinifex termite
• subterranean termite
• termitarium
• termite bug
• termite mound
• termite of the sea
• termiticide
• turmite

 

Further reading

• termite on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• emitter

French

Etymology

Back-formation from termites. From Late Latin termites (plural of termes), late variant of the Classical Latin tarmes (“woodworm”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛʁ.mit/

Noun

termite m or f (plural termites)

1. termite (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect)

   Synonym: fourmi blanche

   • 1798, Georges Cuvier, Tableau élémentaire de l'histoire naturelle des animaux, page 479:

     Les termites parfaits ont le corps et la tête applatis horizontalement ; trois articles à tous les doigts. Leurs antennes, en forme de chapelet, les distinguent assez des autres genres de cet ordre. […]
     1. Le termite belliqueux. (Termes fatale.)
     Est l’espèce la plus grande et la plus commune. […]
     2. Le termite atroce. (Termes arda.)
     Noir, à pieds pâles, et
     3. Le termite mordant. (Termes mordax.)
     Noir, à pieds de même couleur.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

While most dictionaries give termite as masculine, it is commonly used as a feminine noun, due to the ending -ite.

Descendants

• → Romanian: termită

Further reading

• “termite”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin termitem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛr.mi.te/
• Rhymes: -ɛrmite
• Hyphenation: tèr‧mi‧te

Noun

termite f (plural termiti)

1. termite (white-bodied, wood-consuming insect)

Further reading

• termite in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• metrite, rimette, temerti

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈter.mi.te/, [ˈt̪ɛrmɪt̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈter.mi.te/, [ˈt̪ɛrmit̪e]

Noun

termite m

1. ablative singular of termes