wasp

¹ American  

[wosp] / wɒsp /

noun

1. any of numerous social or solitary hymenopterous insects of the Vespidae, Sphecidae, and allied families, generally having a long, slender body and narrow waist and, in the female, a stinger.

2. a person who is snappish or petulant.

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WASP ² American  

[wosp] / wɒsp /

noun

1. a member of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, an organization disbanded in 1944.

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WASP ³ American  

[wosp] / wɒsp /

Or Wasp

noun

1. a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

2. a member of the privileged, established white upper middle class in the U.S.

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adjective

1. Waspy.

Wasp ¹ British  

/ wɒsp /

acronym

1. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: a person descended from N European, usually Protestant stock, forming a group often considered the most dominant, privileged, and influential in American society

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wasp ² British  

/ wɒsp /

noun

1. any social hymenopterous insect of the family Vespidae, esp Vespula vulgaris ( common wasp ), typically having a black-and-yellow body and an ovipositor specialized for stinging See also potter wasp hornet

2. any of various solitary hymenopterans, such as the digger wasp and gall wasp

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WASP Cultural  

1. An acronym for “w hite A nglo-S axon P rotestant” — a member of what many consider to be the most privileged and influential group in American society.

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Other Word Forms

• Waspy adjective
• waspily adverb
• waspiness noun
• wasplike adjective
• waspy adjective

Etymology

Origin of wasp¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English waspe, Old English wæsp, metathetic variant of wæps, itself variant of wæfs; cognate with Dutch wesp, German Wespe; akin to Latin vespa

Origin of WASP³

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

The mud wasps had built their big nest against a ceiling rafter.

From Literature

Classic examples include figs and fig wasps and yuccas and yucca moths.

From Science Daily

Bubbe physically flinches as if a wasp has buzzed past her face and she’s had to dodge it.

From Literature

“Old Rowdy will do just about anything I ask him to do. There’s only one thing he won’t do. He won’t help me fight wasp nests. He won’t have any part of that.”

From Literature

Here it pushes and carves through a canyon of mud walls that resemble the color of a wasp’s nest.

From Los Angeles Times