Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

mantispid

American  
[man-tis-pid] / mænˈtɪs pɪd /

noun

  1. any neuropterous, mantislike insect of the family Mantispidae, the larvae of which are parasites in the nests of spiders or wasps.

Etymology

Origin of mantispid

< New Latin Mantispidae family of insects, equivalent to Mantisp ( a ) genus name (apparently erroneously for *Mantiopa, equivalent to manti ( s ) mantis + Greek -ōp ( s ) having a face (of a given sort), resembling (adj. use of ṓps face, eye; -opsis ) + New Latin -a -a 2 ) + -idae -id 2

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.