buprestid Hear it!

buprestid definition

bu·pres·tid (byo̵̅o̅ pres′tid)

noun

any of a family (Buprestidae) of beetles with a long, flat, metallic-colored body: the larvae are harmful to woody plants

Etymology: < ModL < L buprestis < Gr bouprēstis, poisonous beetle which when eaten with fodder caused cattle to swell up and die < bous, ox, cow + prēthein, to swell up

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.