wood louse

American  

noun

Zoology.

1. any of certain small, terrestrial crustaceans of the genera Oniscus, Armadillidium, etc., having a flattened, elliptical body.

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Etymology

Origin of wood louse

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Wood louse spider: This species belongs to a relatively small number of spiders that have six eyes instead of eight.

From Scientific American

No surprise, perhaps that they can fall prey to parasites - among them, the sea louse, a marine cousin of the wood louse.

From BBC

The speckled sea louse emerges to feed as the tide rises over its habitat The speckled sea louse, a marine cousin of the wood louse, has two body clocks - one for time and other for tides, say researchers at Aberystwyth University.

From BBC

Despite this hint of a wood louse’s moldiness creeping into my day, I pressed on, to look around a bit on my own.

From New York Times

The caterpillars of this family have all short and rather thick bodies, shaped very much like that of the wood louse—flattened beneath and very convex above.

From Project Gutenberg