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frass

[fras]
noun
  1. insect excrement.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for frass

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. excrement or other refuse left by insects and insect larvae
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Word Origin

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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper