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parasite

noun
/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/UK/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/US

Etymology

From Middle French parasite, from Latin parasitus, from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “person who eats at the table of another”), from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά (pará, “beside”) + σῖτος (sîtos, “food”).

  1. derived from παράσιτος — “person who eats at the table of another”
  2. derived from parasitus
  3. derived from parasite

Definitions

  1. An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit…

    An organism that lives on or in another organism of a different species, deriving benefit from living on or in that other organism, while not contributing towards that other organism sufficiently to cover the cost to that other organism.

    • Lice, fleas, ticks, and mites are widely spread parasites.
    • ...and the mistletoe crept round many of the oaks—that pleasant parasite, whose associations belong rather to the hearth and lighted hall than to its native branches.

  2. A person who lives on other people's efforts or expense and gives little or nothing back.

    • A royalist who publicly called for a military intervention to protect the parasite monarchy.

  3. A sycophant or hanger-on.

  4. ›+ 5 more definitions

    1. A climbing plant which is supported by a wall, trellis etc.

      • Her golden tresses shade / The bosom's stainless pride, / Curling like tendrils of the parasite / Around a marble column.

    2. A retainer or companion of an ancient Celtic warrior, who praised him in song or poetry…

      A retainer or companion of an ancient Celtic warrior, who praised him in song or poetry at gatherings; a bard.

    3. A component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air-launched by a larger…

      A component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air-launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier; a parasite aircraft.

      • […] parasiting and aerial refueling as range-extension measures. Second, parasiting would be exorbitantly expensive, because each parasite bomber would need its own carrier. Two bombers could be serviced by a single tanker, however,[…]

    4. An isolated (FSDU) (freestanding display unit )

      • parasite display
      • parasite stand
      • parasite unit

    5. To parasitize.

      • ... parasiting upon her husband, taking everything and giving nothing in return, this woman had brought her husband to a condition of serious ill health because of his grief, anxiety, and despair over her failure.

The neighborhood

Derived

alloparasite, antiparasite, brood parasite, coproparasite, ecoparasite, ectoparasite, endoparasite, enteroparasite, entomoparasite, epiparasite, exoparasite, haemoparasite, hemiparasite, hemoparasite, holoparasite, hyperparasite, kleptoparasite, macroparasite, mesoparasite, microparasite, multiparasite, mycoparasite, neuroparasite, nonparasite, nosoparasite, parasital, parasitary, parasitation, parasite aircraft, parasitelike, parasitemia, parasitic, parasitical, parasiticide, parasitisation, parasitise, parasitism, parasitization, parasitize, parasitocenosis · +15 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for parasite. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA