emmet

¹

[em-it]

noun

Chiefly Dialect.

1. an ant.

Emmet

²

[em-it]

noun

1. Robert, 1778–1803, Irish patriot.

2. a male given name.

emmet

¹

/ ˈɛmɪt /

noun

1. an archaic or dialect word for ant

2. dialect,  a tourist or holiday-maker

Emmet

²

/ ˈɛmɪt /

noun

1. Robert. 1778–1803, Irish nationalist, executed for leading an uprising for Irish independence

Word History and Origins

Origin of emmet¹

before 900; Middle English emete, Old English ǣmette ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of emmet¹

Old English ǣmette _ant ; related to Old Norse meita, Old High German āmeiza, Gothic maitan

Example Sentences

And so the region depends on tourism — the spending of “emmets,” a Cornish term for ants and for holidaymakers from “up country.”

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Even in the best of holiday seasons, the people of Cornwall in southwest England have a love-hate relationship with the hordes of summer visitors the locals call “emmets,” which is Cornish for ants.

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I had forgotten that I had told him, four or five days ago, my hatred for all cities, and especially for that great mound of greedy emmets, which, unfortunately, is the capital of this country.

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O Thou who givest sight to emmet's eyes, And strength to puny limbs of feeble flies, To Thee we will ascribe Almighty power, And not base, unbecoming qualities.

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And many another he might phrase Who studies as they pass The human emmet's social ways, Through observation's glass.

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