Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A notable genus of large handsome digger-wasps, typical of the family Sphegidæ (or Sphecidæ or Sphexidæ).
  • noun A wasp of this genus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of sand wasps of the genus Sphex and allied genera. These wasps have the abdomen attached to the thorax by a slender pedicel. See Illust. of Sand wasp, under sand.
  • noun (Zoöl.) any one of numerous species of small dipterous flies of the genus Conops and allied genera. The form of the body is similar to that of a sphex.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun zoology Any of the sand wasps of Sphex and allied genera.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Ancient Greek σφήξ (sphēx, "wasp"), pl.: σφῆκες.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "handsome" digger wasps?

    December 4, 2012

  • Wasp sheilas swoon over a slender pedicel, yanno.

    December 4, 2012

  • I feel a compulsion to reply to the last two comments, but I don't know why. Also, see sphexish.

    December 5, 2012