louse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small, wingless parasitic insect that lives on the skin, hair, or feathers of a person or animal

   A single louse can lay several eggs close to the scalp.

2. 2
   noun

   informal and insulting: a contemptible or deeply unpleasant person

   The narrator calls the swindler a louse, then regrets the insult.

From Old English lus, from Proto-Germanic *lus. The irregular plural lice is inherited from Old English lys and preserves an ancient vowel change rather than taking the usual English plural ending.

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