crotonbug

or Cro·ton bug

[ kroht-n-buhg ]

noun

1. German cockroach.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crotonbug¹

1855–60, Americanism; allegedly after the Croton Reservoir in Westchester Co., N.Y.; its opening in 1842 was supposedly coincident with a rise in New York City's cockroach population; bug ¹