cicada

[si-key-duh, -kah-]

noun

plural

cicadas, cicadae 

1. any large homopterous insect of the family Cicadidae, the male of which produces a shrill sound by means of vibrating membranes on the underside of the abdomen.

cicada

/ sɪˈkɑːdə /

noun

1. any large broad insect of the homopterous family Cicadidae, most common in warm regions. Cicadas have membranous wings and the males produce a high-pitched drone by vibration of a pair of drumlike abdominal organs

Word History and Origins

Origin of cicada¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cicāda

Word History and Origins

Origin of cicada¹

C19: from Latin

Example Sentences

Leroy, observing an old superstition, made an oath to the awakening cicadas that he will turn himself in if he’s given the chance to make peace with Berta.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It was like an hour and a half of trying to get Leslie’s side of that and she just had to stay focused while there were frogs, cicadas and a party boat—

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Some insects, including aphids and cicadas, feed on phloem – the living tissue inside plants that carries food made in the leaves to other parts of the plant – and may also benefit from carbon-rich plants.

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All they can see is leafy tree tops and hear is the echoes of cicadas and birds bouncing off the cliffs.

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Surrounded on all sides by a continuous oppressive chorus of cicadas and the mountain ranges making up the Altar Valley, you quickly lose any sense of direction.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• grasshopper