cuckoo-spit
[ koo-koo-spit, koo k-oo- ]
/ ˈku kuˌspɪt, ˈkʊk u- /
noun
Also called frog spit. a frothy secretion found on plants, exuded by the young of certain insects, as the froghoppers, and serving as a protective covering.
an insect that produces this secretion.
RELATED CONTENT
Made-Up Words: Twitter’s Favorite Family MalapropismsJust about every family has a word that makes sense only to them. There's even an official term for this phenomenon: malapropism, a noun that means "an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound." So, we asked Dictionary.com fans to share some of their favorite family malapropisms and explain their backstories.
Nearby words
cuckoo clock, cuckoo shrike, cuckoo spit, cuckoo wasp, cuckoo-shrike, cuckoo-spit, cuckooflower, cuckoopint, cuculiform, cucullate, cucumber
Origin of cuckoo-spit
1350–1400; Middle English cokkowespitle cuckoopint; so called from the spitlike secretion found on the plant and thought to be left by the bird
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for cuckoo spit
cuckoo spit
noun
a white frothy mass on the stems and leaves of many plants, produced by froghopper larvae (cuckoo spit insects) which feed on the plant juicesAlso called: frog spit
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