ichneumon

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɪkˈnjuːmən/ UK /ɪkˈnjuːmən/ See IPA manual

Freq #163481

Meanings

1

noun
an ichneumon wasp, a usually slender parasitoid wasp whose larvae develop in or on other arthropods

The ichneumon used its ovipositor to place an egg inside the caterpillar.
2

noun
the Egyptian mongoose, a long-bodied mammal native to Africa and parts of southern Europe and Asia

The ichneumon hunted rodents along the edge of the marsh.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an ichneumon wasp, a... ichneumon waspparasitoid wasp

2 noun · the egyptian mongoose, a... Egyptian mongoosenems

Word family

Forms ichneumons

Derived forms ichneumonidichneumonology

Related forms ovipositorparasitoidmongooseichnology

Etymology

Through Latin ichneumon from Greek ichneumon, 'tracker,' from ichnos, 'track or footprint.' Greek writers used the name for a tracking animal and for a wasp that hunted other creatures; English preserves both the mongoose and parasitoid-wasp senses.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# ichneumon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈnjuːmən/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈnjuːmən/
**Frequency rank:** 163481

## Meanings
1. an ichneumon wasp, a usually slender parasitoid wasp whose larvae develop in or on other arthropods
2. the Egyptian mongoose, a long-bodied mammal native to Africa and parts of southern Europe and Asia

## Examples
- The ichneumon used its ovipositor to place an egg inside the caterpillar.
- The ichneumon hunted rodents along the edge of the marsh.

## Synonyms
- ichneumon wasp
- parasitoid wasp
- Egyptian mongoose
- nems

## Derived Forms
- ichneumonid
- ichneumonology

## Related Forms
- ovipositor
- parasitoid
- mongoose
- ichnology

## Etymology
Through Latin ichneumon from Greek ichneumon, 'tracker,' from ichnos, 'track or footprint.' Greek writers used the name for a tracking animal and for a wasp that hunted other creatures; English preserves both the mongoose and parasitoid-wasp senses.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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