formicary
Americannoun
plural
formicariesnoun
Etymology
Origin of formicary
1810–20; < Medieval Latin formīcārium ant hill, noun use of neuter of *formīcārius of, pertaining to ants. See formic, -arium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Ewing home at Southfork Ranch, where eight members of one of Texas' wealthiest families contrive to live under one roof, resembles a formicary of Neiman-Marcus showrooms.
From Time Magazine Archive
Swarming on the extremity of the branches among which the formicary is constructed, the defenders, projecting their terminal segments as far into space as possible, eject formic acid in the direction of the enemy.
From Tropic Days by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)
On one occasion, I took ten Lasius niger and confined them in a specially constructed formicary so that they could not possibly leave the nest.
From The Dawn of Reason or, Mental Traits in the Lower Animals by Weir, James
They very soon commenced work, tunnelling the earth and erecting556 a formicary, as nearly as they could after the pattern of their home on the barrens.
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various
He can spend a happy day in watching the busy affairs of a formicary, and to observe the progress of a bit of spider-web architecture gives him a peculiar joy.
From Days Off And Other Digressions by Van Dyke, Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
