aphis

[ ey-fis, af-is ]

/ ˈeɪ fɪs, ˈæf ɪs /

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noun, plural a·phi·des

[ey-fi-deez, af-i-]. /ˈeɪ fɪˌdiz, ˈæf ɪ-/.

an aphid, especially of the genus Aphis.

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Origin of aphis

First recorded in 1765–75; from New Latin, first recorded in a Greek lexicon of 1523 as áphis, with the Latin gloss cimex “bedbug”; perhaps originally a misreading of Greek kóris “bug”

Words nearby aphis

apheresis, aphesis, aphetic, aphid, aphid lion, aphis, aphonia, aphonic, aphorism, aphorist, aphoristic

Other definitions for aphis (2 of 2)

APHIS

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aphis in a sentence

The winged Aphis also remains, the Ant, the Mosquito and many another of the smaller insects.
More Hunting Wasps|J. Henri Fabre
The aphis-lions crawling over the plants come across the little aphid.
Little Busybodies|Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody
For some years the lime-tree aphis has seriously attacked the lime-trees of the public promenades of Paris.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
These are the galls formed by the North American poplar gall aphis.
Garden Pests in New Zealand|D. Miller

Reaumur estimated that a single Aphis might produce six thousand millions in one summer.
Parsons on the Rose|Samuel Browne Parsons

British Dictionary definitions for aphis

aphis

/ (ˈeɪfɪs) /

noun plural aphides (ˈeɪfɪˌdiːz)

any of various aphids constituting the genus Aphis, such as the blackfly

any other aphid

Word Origin for aphis

C18: from New Latin (coined by Linnaeus for obscure reasons)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012