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Showing results for formicary. Search instead for formicatory.

formicary

American  
[fawr-mi-ker-ee] / ˈfɔr mɪˌkɛr i /

noun

  • formicaries
    plural
  1. an ant nest.


formicary British  
/ ˌfɔːmɪˈkɛərɪəm, ˈfɔːmɪkərɪ /

noun

  1. less common names for ant hill

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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.

See Examples For:

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

Several queens often exist in one nest, and I have seen workers drag newly fertilized queens into a formicary to enlarge their resources.

From Scientific American Supplement No. 822, October 3, 1891 by Various

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 Henry Van Dyke

But there are other animals in the teeming formicary which seem to subserve no useful purpose other than that of ministering to the ants' love of pets or playmates.

From The Dawn of Reason or, Mental Traits in the Lower Animals by James Weir

On one occasion, a swarm was about to take place in one of my formicaries.

From The Dawn of Reason or, Mental Traits in the Lower Animals by James Weir

Zoology should always be taught with plenty of pets, menagerie resources, and with aquaria, aviaries, apiaries, formicaries, etc., as adjuncts.

From Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene by G. Stanley Hall

The formicaries of the two species are often in close contact, so that the nature of the soil is precisely the same.

From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various

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