Adjacent Words

Weevil definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WEEVIL, n. [G.] A small insect that does great damage to wheat or other corn, by eating into the grains and devouring the farinaceous part. This insect is of the beetle kind, somewhat large than a louse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of several families of mostly small beetles that feed on plants and plant products; especially snout beetles and seed beetles

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English wevel, from Old English wifel; akin to Old High German wibil beetle, Old English wefan to weave Date: before 12th century any of a superfamily (Curculionoidea) of beetles which have the head prolonged into a more or less distinct snout and which include many that are destructive especially as larvae to nuts, fruit, and grain or to living plants; especially any of a family (Curculionidae) having a well-developed snout curved downward with the jaws at the tip and clubbed usually elbowed antennae • weevily or weevilly adjective

Britannica Concise

Any of about 40,000 beetle species in the largest family of beetles, Curculionidae, also the largest family in the animal kingdom. Most weevils have long, elbowed antennae that may fold into special grooves on the prominent snout. Many species are wingless. Most species are less than 0.25 in. (6 mm) long, are plainly colored and marked, and feed exclusively on plants. Some species are more than 3 in. (80 mm) long. The larvae may feed on only a certain part of a plant or a single plant species; adults are less specialized. The family includes many destructive pests, incl. the boll weevil.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 any destructive beetle of the family Curculionidae, with its head extended into a beak or rostrum and feeding esp. on grain. 2 any insect damaging stored grain. Derivatives: weevily adj. Etymology: ME f. MLG wevel f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Weevil Wee"vil, n. [OE. wivel, wevil, AS. wifel, wibil; akin to OD. wevel, OHG. wibil, wibel, G. wiebel, wibel, and probably to Lith. vabalas beetle, and E. weave. See Weave.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of snout beetles, or Rhynchophora, in which the head is elongated and usually curved downward. Many of the species are very injurious to cultivated plants. The larv[ae] of some of the species live in nuts, fruit, and grain by eating out the interior, as the plum weevil, or curculio, the nut weevils, and the grain weevil (see under Plum, Nut, and Grain). The larv[ae] of other species bore under the bark and into the pith of trees and various other plants, as the pine weevils (see under Pine). See also Pea weevil, Rice weevil, Seed weevil, under Pea, Rice, and Seed.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(weevils) A weevil is a small insect which feeds on grain and seeds, and destroys crops. N-COUNT