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Webster 1913 Edition
Parasite
Par′a-site
(păr′ȧ-sīt)
, Noun.
[F., fr. L.
parasitus
, Gr. παράσιτος
, lit., eating beside, or at the table of, another; παρά
beside + σιτεῖν
to feed, from σιτοσ
wheat, grain, food.] 1.
One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at another’s expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.
Thou, with trembling fear,
Or like a fawning
Or like a fawning
parasite
, obey'st. Milton.
Parasites
were called such smell-feasts as would seek to be free guests at rich men's tables. Udall.
2.
(Bot.)
(a)
A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; – sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte.
(b)
A plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus
Torrubia
. 3.
(Zool.)
(a)
An animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc.
(b)
An animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic jager.
(c)
An animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the cowbird and the European cuckoo.
Webster 1828 Edition
Parasite
PAR'ASITE
,Noun.
1.
In ancient Greece, a priest or minister of the gods whose office was to gather of the husbandman the corn allotted for public sacrifices. The parasites also superintended the sacrifices.2.
In modern usage, a trencher friend; one that frequents the tables of the rich and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger on; a fawning flatterer.3.
In botany,a plant growing on the stem or branch of another plant and receiving its nourishment from it, as the mistletoe.Definition 2024
parasité
parasité
See also: parasite
French
Verb
parasité m (feminine singular parasitée, masculine plural parasités, feminine plural parasitées)
- past participle of parasiter
Adjective
parasité m (feminine singular parasitée, masculine plural parasités, feminine plural parasitées)