wood louse

noun

Zoology.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wood louse¹

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.

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Garland said, “It’s a chance anyway, breaking free and coming here to Earth, where we’re not even considered animals. Where every worm and wood louse is considered more desirable than all of us put together.”

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Malcolm kicked the boy, and he rolled away, curled up like a wood louse.

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

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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.

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