wasp

B2 Topic:The Human Body

US /wɑsp/ UK /wɒsp/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #15299

Meanings

1

noun
A flying insect with a thin black-and-yellow body that can give a painful sting.

A wasp flew in through the window and we all panicked.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms wasps

Derived forms wasp-waistedwaspiewaspishwasplikewaspy

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ Proto-Germanic *wapsō Proto-West Germanic *wapsu Old English wæps Middle English wasp English wasp Inherited from Middle English wasp, waspe, waps, from Old English wæsp, wæps, from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“to weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests. Compare Dutch wesp, German Wespe, Danish hveps. Metathesis of /s/ and /p/ was both a process of some generality within English (compare grasp from Middle English grapsen, and—affec…

wasp Middle English wæsp Old English *wapsu Proto-West Germanic *wapsō Proto-Germanic *wóbʰseh₂ Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

# wasp

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** wɑsp
**IPA (UK):** wɒsp
**Frequency rank:** 15299

## Meanings
1. A flying insect with a thin black-and-yellow body that can give a painful sting.

## Examples
- A wasp flew in through the window and we all panicked.

## Derived Forms
- wasp-waisted
- waspie
- waspish
- wasplike
- waspy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wasp
- Root: wæsp
- Root: *wapsu
- Root: *wapsō
- Root: *wóbʰseh₂

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ Proto-Germanic *wapsō Proto-West Germanic *wapsu Old English wæps Middle English wasp English wasp Inherited from Middle English wasp, waspe, waps, from Old English wæsp, wæps, from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“to weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests. Compare Dutch wesp, German Wespe, Danish hveps. Metathesis of /s/ and /p/ was both a process of some generality within English (compare grasp from Middle English grapsen, and—affec…

## AI Etymology
Wasp: The etymological chain runs Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- -> Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ -> Proto-Germanic *wapsō -> Proto-West Germanic *wapsu -> Old English wæps -> Middle English wasp -> English wasp. Inherited from Middle English wasp, waspe, waps, from Old English wæsp, wæps, from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“to weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests. Compare Dutch wesp, German Wespe, Danish hveps. Important historical forms include Middle English wasp, Old English wæsp, Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, Proto-Germanic *wapsō, and Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂. In present-day use, it means a flying insect with a thin black-and-yellow body that can give a painful sting.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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