weevil

[ wee-vuh l ]

/ ˈwi vəl /

noun

Also called snout beetle. any of numerous beetles of the family Curculionidae, which have the head prolonged into a snout and which are destructive to nuts, grain, fruit, etc.

any of numerous related beetles.

Nearby words

weeping willow, weepingly, weepy, weet, weever, weevil, weevily, weewee, weft, weft ikat, weft knitting

Origin of weevil

before 900; Middle English wevel, Old English wifel; cognate with Old High German wibil beetle; akin to wave

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

Examples from the Web for weevil

It was unfortunate for Weevil that he was more eccentric in appearance than in habits.
Furze the Cruel|John Trevena
The only explanation I can see is that Weevil came across him in his travels, and is rubbing up his German by talking with him.
The Hero of Garside School|J. Harwood Panting
I flatly refuse to worry about to-morrow, said Nyoda, sufficient unto the day is the weevil thereof!
The Camp Fire Girls at Onoway House|Hildegard G. Frey
It was beginning to get dusk as he followed the trail along which he had once followed in the footsteps of Mr. Weevil.
The Hero of Garside School|J. Harwood Panting

Then followed a list of the girls whom Weevil had suspected; but that was of no interest to Boodles.
Furze the Cruel|John Trevena

British Dictionary definitions for weevil

weevil

/ (ˈwiːvɪl) /

noun

Also called: snout beetle any beetle of the family Curculionidae, having an elongated snout (rostrum): they are pests, feeding on plants and plant productsSee also boll weevil

Also called: pea weevil, bean weevil any of various beetles of the family Bruchidae (or Lariidae), the larvae of which live in the seeds of leguminous plants

any of various similar or related beetles

Derived Formsweevily, adjective

Word Origin for weevil

Old English wifel; related to Old High German wibil; compare Old Norse tordӯfill dungbeetle

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 weevil

weevil

Old English wifel "small beetle," from Proto-Germanic *webilaz (cf. Old Saxon wibil, Old High German wibil, German Wiebel "beetle, chafer," Old Norse tordyfill "dung beetle"), cognate with Lithuanian vabalas "beetle," from PIE root *webh- "to weave," also "to move quickly" (see weave (v.)). The sense gradually narrowed to a particular kind of beetle that, in larval or adult stages, bores into plants, often destroying them.