parasite

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An animal or plant that lives on or inside another and feeds off it.

   Lice, fleas, and ticks are common parasites.

2. 2
   noun

   A person who lives off others and gives nothing in return.

   They saw him as a parasite, sponging off his wealthy relatives.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Parasite entered English in the mid-16th century through Latin from Greek parasitos, literally a person “eating at another’s table,” formed from para-, “alongside,” and sitos, “food.” It first meant a hanger-on or sponger, while its biological use dates from the early 18th century.

From Middle French parasite, from Latin parasitus, from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “person who eats at the table of another”), from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά (pará, “beside”) + σῖτος (sîtos, “food”).

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