cockchafer

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a large European scarab beetle whose larvae and adults can damage crops and other vegetation

   A cockchafer droned over the hedge in the warm evening air.

A compound of cock, 'male bird,' + chafer, 'beetle,' recorded from the late seventeenth century. The first element may refer to the beetle's size or to its fanlike antennae, which were compared with a cock's comb.

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