LOUSE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Louse

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/laʊs/ Listen

noun

Louse n. (pl. lice) (Zool.)

1.

Any one of numerous species of small, wingless, suctorial, parasitic insects belonging to a tribe (Pediculina), now usually regarded as degraded Hemiptera. To this group belong of the lice of man and other mammals; as, the head louse of man (Pediculus capitis), the body louse (Pediculus vestimenti), and the crab louse (Phthirius pubis), and many others. See Crab louse, Dog louse, Cattle louse, etc., under Crab, Dog, etc.

2.

Any one of numerous small mandibulate insects, mostly parasitic on birds, and feeding on the feathers. They are known as Mallophaga, or bird lice, though some occur on the hair of mammals. They are usually regarded as degraded Pseudoneuroptera. See Mallophaga.

3.

Any one of the numerous species of aphids, or plant lice. See Aphid.

4.

Any small crustacean parasitic on fishes. See Branchiura, and Ichthvophthira. Note: The term is also applied to various other parasites; as, the whale louse, beelouse, horse louse.

Louse fly (Zool.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the group Pupipara. Some of them are wingless, as the bee louse.

Louse mite (Zool.), any one of numerous species of mites which infest mammals and birds, clinging to the hair and feathers like lice. They belong to Myobia, Dermaleichus, Mycoptes, and several other genera.

verb

Louse v. t. To clean from lice. "You sat and loused him."

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Etymology of 'Louse'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Louse" Quotes from Famous Books

... the Park a fair Fancy was seen, Betwixt an old Baud and a lusty young Quean; Their parting of Money began the uproar, I'll have half says the Baud, but you shan't says the Whore: Why 'tis my own House, I care not a Louse, I'll ha' three parts in four, or you get ...

— Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, Vol. 5 of 6 • Various

... of a white, chalky character, and very poor, but having been terraced and enriched with fertilizers, it produces the champagne grape in such abundance that the region, once considered valueless, and named by the peasantry the "land of the louse," now supports a dense population. We remained in Rheims eight days, and through the politeness of the American Consul—Mr. Adolph Gill—had the pleasure of seeing all the famous wine cellars, and inspecting the processes followed in ...

— The Memoirs of General P. H. Sheridan, Complete • General Philip Henry Sheridan

... louse—might be distinguished from scurf (although to the naked eye it is very much like it in appearance) by the former fastening firmly on one of the hairs as a barnacle would on a rock, and by it not being readily brushed off as scurf would, which ...

— Advice to a Mother on the Management of her Children • Pye Henry Chavasse

... you expect us to win every match? Why, Preston North End itself"— here he spoke solemnly, of heroes—"Preston North End itself in its great days didn't win every match—it lost to Accrington. But did the Preston public desert it? No! You—you haven't got the pluck of a louse, nor the faithfulness of a cat. You've starved your football club to death, and now you call a meeting to weep and grumble. And you have the insolence to write letters to the Signal about bad management, forsooth! If anybody in the hall thinks he can manage this ...

— The Card, A Story Of Adventure In The Five Towns • Arnold Bennett

... of the Burgh and Parish of Stanrawer, and the Parishes of Anwith and Borgh, to the several Presbyteries, for applying to the Meetings in Ireland, to louse the Irish Ministers now serving in these Parishes to the end they may continue their setled ...

— The Acts Of The General Assemblies of the Church of Scotland

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