moth

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[Illustration: The Beautiful Poison Caterpillar (the moth is a little over life size)]

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Definitions (51)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun Any of numerous insects of the order Lepidoptera, generally distinguished from butterflies by their nocturnal activity, hairlike or feathery antennae, stout bodies, and the frenulum that holds the front and back wings together.
  2. noun A clothes moth.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (46)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • If the moth is allowed to emerge from the cocoon, the filament is broken and can no longer be reeled as one continuous strand.
  • After learning that my moth was a Polyphemus by scrolling through the posted pictures, I quickly decided that What's That Bug was a treasure trove of information that needed sharing … —  Gear Diary
  • When Pedersen takes the camera lens and shows Maria how through it the moth is a shadow dancer, she immediately grasps the transforming power of photography. —  Philly.com - Latest Videos
  • As surely as a moth is drawn to flame and Democrats to bailout money, I am pulled by some unseen force to this website and forced by dint of habit - and out of a desperation born of ennui - to catalogue my thoughts about the world as it is revealed to me by our new President, —  Right Wing Nut House
  • Others lay all the blame upon the bee-moth, and others still, upon our departure from the good old-fashioned way of managing bees. —  Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee A Bee Keeper's Manual
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This word has been looked up 116 times.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English motthe, from Old English moththe.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English mothe, moththe. from Anglo-Saxon moththe = Middle Dutch motte, Dutch mot = Middle Low German Low German mutte = Middle High German motte, matte, German motte = Icelandic motti, a moth, = Swedish mott, a moth; also English dial. mought, from Middle English moughte, mowghte, moughthe, from Anglo-Saxon mohthe. Perhaps akin to mad, made, whence maddock mawk, a maggot. The forms are some what discordant; perhaps two or more orig. different words are involved.
  2. Hindustani moṭh.
 

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/moʊt/
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