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cockchafer

[ kok-chey-fer ]

noun

  1. any of certain scarab beetles, especially the European species, Melolontha melolontha, which is very destructive to forest trees.


cockchafer

/ ˈkɒkˌtʃeɪfə /

noun

  1. any of various Old World scarabaeid beetles, esp Melolontha melolontha of Europe, whose larvae feed on crops and grasses Also calledMay beetleMay 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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cockchafer1

1685–95; cock 1 (with reference to its size) + chafer
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cockchafer1

C18: from cock 1+ chafer
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Example Sentences

In third grade, he brought in a cockchafer beetle grub for show-and-tell, hoping to impress his classmates.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a cockchafer on my wall.

For the unfamiliar, a cockchafer could be mistaken for a water bug but is in fact a giant beetle.

From US News

The humming of the screws overhead dropped an octave and a half, back through wasp and hornet to bumble bee, to cockchafer, to stag- beetle.

To our question of why came his frantic reply: “A cockchafer fell down my pants!”

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