cimex

[ sahy-meks ]

/ ˈsaɪ mɛks /

noun, plural cim·i·ces [sim-uh-seez] /ˈsɪm əˌsiz/.

a bedbug of the genus Cimex.

Nearby words

cimbri, cimelia, cimeliarch, ciment fondu, cimetidine, cimex, cimices, cimmerian, cimon, cinch, cinch belt

Origin of cimex

1575–85; < New Latin, Latin cīmex bedbug

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cimex

The bedbug (Fig. 35) (Cimex lectularis) has been accused of transmitting plague, relapsing fever and other diseases.
Insects and Diseases|Rennie W. Doane
An allied species, the dove-cote bug (Cimex columbaria), attacks domestic fowls and pigeons.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
It has the same habits and practically the same life cycle as Cimex lectularius.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley
But the resources of one-and-twenty are not easily daunted, even by the presence of the cimex lectularius or the pulex irritans.
Tracks of a Rolling Stone|Henry J. Coke

Sopra un organo particolare della Cimici dei letti (Cimex lectularius L.).
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for cimex

cimex

/ (ˈsaɪmɛks) /

noun plural cimices (ˈsɪmɪˌsiːz)

any of the heteropterous insects of the genus Cimex, esp the bedbug

Word Origin for cimex

C16: from Latin: bug

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

Word Origin and History for cimex

cimex

Latin, "bug, bedbug," also a term of reproach, of uncertain origin. Related: Cimiceous "buggy;" cimicine "smelling of bugs."