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
The whole life of the formicary centers upon the young, which proves they have reached a degree of civilization unknown even in some forms of higher life.
From Scientific American Supplement No. 822, October 3, 1891 by Various
A favourite set target is the bulbous formicary of the white ant which disfigures so many of the trees of the forest.
From My Tropic Isle by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)
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
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)
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.
