ant

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.

   The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters […]. But the priciest items in the market aren't the armadillo steaks or even the bluefin tuna. That would be the frozen chicatanas – giant winged ants – at around $500 a kilo.

2. 2
   verb

   To rub insects, especially ants, on one's body, perhaps to control parasites or clean feathers.

   Wild birds tend to ant and sunbathe most frequently during periods of high humidity, particularly right after heavy or prolonged rainfall in summer.

3. 3
   noun

   social insect living in organized colonies

4. 4
   noun

   A Web spider.

5. 5
   name

   A diminutive of the male given name Anthony, from Latin.

6. 6
   name

   A river in Norfolk, England, tributary to the Bure.

7. 7
   name

   The 27th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

8. 8
   name

   Initialism of Afghanistan National Television.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā Old English ǣmete Middle English ampte English ant From Middle English ampte, amte, emete, amete, from Old English ǣmete (“ant”), from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā (literally “biting-thing, cutter”), of uncertain and debated origin (q.v.), but probably from Proto-Germanic *ē- (“off, away”) + *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Cognate with Scots emmot (“ant”), dialectal Dutch emt, empt (“ant”), German Ameise and Emse (“ant”). See also emmet.