Louse Definition
lous
lice, loused, louses, lousing
noun
lice
Any of an order (Anoplura) of small, flat, wingless insects with sucking mouthparts, parasitic on the skin or hair of humans and some other mammals; esp., the human body louse (Pediculus humanus corporis) and head louse (P. h. capitis)
Webster's New World
Any of various arthropods that suck blood or juice from other animals or plants.
Webster's New World
Webster's New World
A person regarded as mean, contemptible, etc.
Webster's New World
Any of various other small insects, arachnids, and crustaceans that are not parasitic, as the book louse or wood louse.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- sucking-louse
- dirt ball
- insect
- worm
- plant louse
- biting louse
- bird louse
- scoundrel
- rat
- knave
- cootie
- cad
- mite
- pediculus
- Hemiptera (Latin)
verb
To delouse.
Webster's New World
To bungle. Often used with up .
Louse up a deal.
American Heritage
To remove lice from the body of a person or animal; to delouse.
Wiktionary
idiom
louse up
- to botch; spoil; ruin
Webster's New World
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Louse
Origin of Louse
-
From Middle English lows(e), from Old English lÅ«s, from Proto-Germanic *lÅ«s (cf. West Frisian lûs, Dutch luis, Low German Luus, German Laus), from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (cf. Welsh llau (“lice"), Tocharian B luwo, maybe Sanskrit यूका (yÅ«kā)).
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English from Old English lūs lūs- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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