ichneumon

[ ik-noo-muhn, -nyoo- ]

noun

Also called African mongoose, Egyptian mongoose . a slender, long-tailed mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, inhabiting Africa and southern Europe, and believed by the ancient Egyptians to devour crocodile eggs.
ichneumon fly.

Origin of ichneumon

1565–75; <Latin <Greek ichneúmōn tracker, equivalent to ichneú(ein) to track (see ichno-) + -mōn agent suffix

Words Nearby ichneumon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ichneumon in a sentence

What of the infinite goodness of God in teaching the grub of the ichneumon-fly to eat up the cabbage caterpillar alive?
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
Apparently the ichneumon fly (Ophion obscurum), and not the true sawfly, is meant.
A Thin Ghost and Others | M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
There are several species of ichneumon which make thinnings among the caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction | Various
This is an act of cruelty which resembles that of the ichneumon, to which it may well be compared.
Animal Parasites and Messmates | P. J. Van Beneden
This work dates from 668; and in it the creature is an ichneumon.
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages | Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for ichneumon

ichneumon

/ (ɪkˈnjuːmən) /

noun

a mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, of Africa and S Europe, having greyish-brown speckled fur

Origin of ichneumon

C16: via Latin from Greek, literally: tracker, hunter, from ikhneuein to track, from ikhnos a footprint; so named from the animal's alleged ability to locate the eggs of crocodiles

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

Browse