wasp

B2 Topic:Animals

US /wɑsp/ UK /wɒsp/ See IPA manual

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

Appears in

Phrases (2)

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Simplified etymology

Wasp is an Old English word descended from an ancient form also represented by Latin vespa “wasp.” Its ultimate source may have meant “to weave,” perhaps referring to the way wasps make papery nests from chewed wood.

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

Animals

External links

# 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
- Animals

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