cicada

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various insects of the family Cicadidae, having a broad head, membranous wings, and in the male a pair of resonating organs that produce a characteristic high-pitched, droning sound. Also called cicala.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A popular name of many insects belonging to different orders, Hemiptera and Orthoptera, which make a rhythmical creaking or chirping noise; a locust, grasshopper, or cricket. In this sense the word has no definite zoölogical signification.
2. n. In zoology: [capitalized] The typical genus of homopterous hemipterous insects of the family Cicadidæ. They are of comparatively large size, and the males have drums under their transparent wings with which a peculiar shrilling noise is made. The adult females deposit their eggs in the twigs of trees. The adolescent life of these insects is passed underground. C. orni is the south European species; C. hematodes occurs in Germany, England, etc.; C. septendecim is the American periodical cicada or seventeen-year locust, and there are several other species in the United States.

Wiktionary

1. n. any of several insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) Any species of the genus Cicada or of the family Cicadidae. They are large hemipterous insects, with nearly transparent wings. The male makes a shrill sound by peculiar organs in the under side of the abdomen, consisting of a pair of stretched membranes, acted upon by powerful muscles. A noted American species (Cicada septendecim) is called the seventeen year locust. Another common species is the dogday cicada.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. stout-bodied insect with large membranous wings; male has drum-like organs for producing a high-pitched drone