wasp

Meanings

1. 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.

Common collocations

• wasp waist Noun + noun
• gall wasp Noun + noun

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…

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External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
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