frass

[fras]

noun

insect excrement.

Origin of frass

1850–55; orig., the refuse and excrement of boring or leaf-eating insects < German Frass insect damage, corrosion, noun from base of fressen to eat (of animals); see fress, fret¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for frass

Historical Examples of frass

Generally underneath the tree will be found the frass, or ejectamenta, of the caterpillar.
The Butterfly Book
William Jacob Holland

British Dictionary definitions for frass

frass

noun

excrement or other refuse left by insects and insect larvae

Word Origin for frass

C19: from German, from fressen to devour

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

Word Origin and History for frass

insect excrement, 1854, from German frasz, from root of fressen "to devour, to eat as a beast does" (see fret (v.)).