earwig
/ˈɪə(ɹ)wɪɡ/
earwig noun: any of various insects of the order Dermaptera that have elongated bodies, large membranous wings folded underneath short leathery forewings and a pair of large pincers protruding from the rear of the abdomen.
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Noun
earwig (plural earwigs)
- Any of various insects of the order Dermaptera that have elongated bodies, large membranous wings folded underneath short leathery forewings and a pair of large pincers protruding from the rear of the abdomen.
- "That's a fine young fellow," said the historiographer of earwigs, to an American who stood next him in the crowd.1856, L. S. Lavenu, chapter XVII, in Erlesmere; or, Contrasts of Character, volume 1, London: Smith, Elder & Co., page 171
- The idea was probably strengthened by the earwig′s appearance, with a sharp, pincer-like appendage extending to the rear. However, earwigs are herbivores, and they are no more likely to enter an ear than are ants, bees, flies, or any other small insect. Even when earwigs do occasionally find their...2001, Jan Harold Brunvand, Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, page 128
- One who whispers insinuations; a secret counsellor.
- That gawdy earwig, or my lord your patron, Whose pensioner you are.1633, John Ford (dramatist), The Broken Heart
- A flatterer.
Verb
earwig (third-person singular simple present earwigs, present participle earwigging, simple past and past participle earwigged)
- To fill the mind of with prejudice by insinuations.
- To attempt to influence by persistent confidential argument or talk.
- In the interim, rest assured that Mr. Atherstone is by no means your friend, for he was perpetually earwigging poor Sir Rowland.1831 November, Edward Lancaster, “Appearances”, in The Ladies′ Museum, page 202
- The hon. gentleman Mr. Reynolds had expressed his fears that the Government would allow themselves to be earwigged out of the money.1866 February 23, South Australian Parliament, Debates in the Houses of Legislature: September 29 1865-March 16 1866, page 1127
- To eavesdrop.
- He had heard nothing from Fin, or anyone else, since the angry exchange the other night and was worried about how things were going, but he couldn′t ask about the LeMotts, not with Mum earwigging.2007, Russell K. Lewis, In a Moment...: Book One of the Ley of the Land, page 381
- The nameless earwigging writer scrawled in his notebook that “MS and CT also considered that such low life would have a greater pride and satisfaction in life if they could themselves be cooked and served still bleating to rich diners.″2007, Cat Rambo, Jeff VanderMeer, The Strange Case of the Lovecraft Café: The Surgeon′s Tale and Other Stories, page 89
- To eavesdrop on.
- We are meeting at a friendly, higher-end Shanghai brunching spot beloved of expats—cramped and informal enough that one of the three bankers at the next table is cheerfully earwigging our conversation.2017 December 1, Leo Lewis, “Eric Cantona on seagulls, fixing Man Utd and why you can't buy passion”, in Financial Times
earwig meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Arabic and Thai
earwig in Tamil
- நமது பூமியில் காணப்படும் பூச்சிகளில், இது முக்கியமானதொரு இனமாகும்
earwig in Bengali
- কানফাঁড়া পোকা
earwig in Arabic
- insect of the order Dermaptera
- أَبُو مِقَصّ ʔabū miqaṣṣ
earwig in Thai
- insect of the order Dermaptera
- แมงคาเรือง maeng-kaa-reuang
More languagesFewer languages
- earwig in Vietnamese
- sâu tai
Examples of earwig in a sentence
- The idea was probably strengthened by the earwig′s appearance, with a sharp, pincer-like appendage extending to the rear.2001, Jan Harold Brunvand, Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, page 128:
- This man turned up on the last train, wanting a room, and his name had been odd enough to stay in the children′s minds as they earwigged—not something you ever do, Jonty.2010, Charlie Cochrane, Lessons in Seduction, page 100:
Synonyms of earwig
Forms of earwig
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | earwigs |
| alternative form | earywig |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | earwigs |
| present participle | earwigging |
| past participle | earwigged |
| past | earwigged |
Origin of earwig
From Middle English erwigge, from Old English ēarwicga, from ēare (“ear”) + wicga (“insect”), so named from the appearance of the hindwings, which are unique in their resemblance to human ears when unfolded. Compare typologically Dutch oorworm, German Ohrwurm, Danish ørentvist; French perce-oreille, Romanian urechelniță; Russian уховёртка (uxovjórtka), Serbo-Croatian uholaža, Slovak ucholak; Lithuanian auslinda (all are cognates via Proto-Indo-European *h₂ows-). Also compare Mongolian чихүүр хорхой (čixüür xorxoj) (<+ чих (čix)), Turkish kulağakaçan (<+ kulak).
Words formed from earwig
Questions about earwig
- What does earwig mean?
- Earwig means any of various insects of the order Dermaptera that have elongated bodies, large membranous wings folded underneath short leathery forewings and a pair of large pincers protruding from the rear of the abdomen.
- What is earwig in Tamil?
- Earwig in Tamil is நமது பூமியில் காணப்படும் பூச்சிகளில், இது முக்கியமானதொரு இனமாகும். See Earwig meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use earwig in a sentence?
- The idea was probably strengthened by the earwig′s appearance, with a sharp, pincer-like appendage extending to the rear.
- What part of speech is earwig?
- Earwig can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce earwig?
- Earwig is pronounced /ˈɪə(ɹ)wɪɡ/.
- What is the plural of earwig?
- The plural of earwig is earwigs.
Words near earwig in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: earwig (page history and authors); earwig (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); earwig (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-earwig.ogg.
Cite this entry: “earwig.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/earwig. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.