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pismire

[ pis-mahyuhr, piz- ]
/ ˈpɪsˌmaɪər, ˈpɪz- /

noun

an ant.

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Origin of pismire

1350–1400; Middle English pissemyre, equivalent to pisse to urinate + obsolete mire ant, perhaps <Scandinavian (compare Danish myre,Swedish myra), cognate with Dutch mier; pejorative name from stench of formic acid proper to ants

Words nearby pismire

Pisidian, pisiform, pisiform bone, Pisistratidae, Pisistratus, pismire, pismo clam, pisolite, pisolith, piss, piss about
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for pismire

British Dictionary definitions for pismire

pismire
/ (ˈpɪsˌmaɪə) /

noun

an archaic or dialect word for an ant

Word Origin for pismire

C14 (literally: urinating ant, from the odour of formic acid characteristic of an ant hill): from piss + obsolete mire ant, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse maurr, Middle Low German mīre ant
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