| 释义 |
antn.1 Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Middle Dutch amete , eemt (Dutch regional emt , empt , emte , empe ), Middle Low German āmete , ēmete , ēmte , empte , Old High German āmeiza (Middle High German āmeize , German Ameise ) < the Germanic base of e- prefix1 + the Germanic base of Old High German meizan (strong verb), Old Icelandic meita (weak verb), Gothic maitan (strong verb), all ‘to cut’ (further etymology uncertain), probably so called with reference to its very visible segmented body structure (compare similarly, with broader reference, insect n., entomo- comb. form), although some take the name to refer instead to its behaviour, as a creature that cuts with its mouthparts.In Old English the vowel of the first syllable shows the regular development of Germanic ǣ (West Germanic ā ) to ǣ in West Saxon (ǣmette ) and ē in non-West Saxon dialects (ēmette ); for examples of the latter and its reflexes in later English see emmet n. Forms with initial a- such as Middle English ămete (see α. forms) arise by (early) trisyllabic shortening of West Saxon ǣmette . Parallel trisyllabic shortening of non-West Saxon ēmette is reflected by Middle English ĕmete (giving early modern English emmet at emmet n. α. forms), while modern regional forms with a long initial vowel (compare Scots eemert at emmet n. α. forms, eemock at emmet n. γ. forms) reflect a northern Middle English form *ēmet , with early loss of final -e and consequently unshortened initial vowel. The forms with initial a- apparently spread outside their original territory already in Middle English; both ant and emmet occur in (apparently) free variation in the developing early modern English standard, with the former gradually supplanting the latter in the course of time (compare quot. 1611 at sense 1). The β. forms show syncope of the medial syllable, and in forms such as ampte epenthetic p in the resulting consonant group mt (compare empty adj.). The γ. forms show assimilation of m to n before the following dental (compare scant adj.), and give the modern standard form; the evidence of 17th-cent. orthoepists shows that a variant pronunciation /ɑːnt/ (resulting from the development of a back glide before n plus consonant in Middle English) was formerly in use (compare aunt at γ. forms, and see further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §238). The α. forms survive regionally, chiefly in southern England ( Surv. Eng. Dial. records pronunciations indicative of these forms from Somerset, Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent). The English regional (south-western) form yammet at α. forms shows the development of a front glide (compare yemmet at emmet n. α. forms); Surv. Eng. Dial. records pronunciations indicative of this form from Somerset and Hampshire. The English regional (Northumberland) form nant at γ. forms shows metanalysis (see N n.). the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant eOE (Royal) (1865) iii. xxxiv. 328 Gif sinwe sien gescruncene, nime æmettan mid hiora bedgeride, wyl on wætre & beþe mid. OE tr. (1995) §15. 234 Swa þicce hie in þære ea aweollon swa æmettan ða nicras. OE tr. Vitas Patrum in B. Assmann (1889) 205 He [sc. Salomo] sæde, þæt þa latan mod wæron gereht in æmettena onlicnysse [L. ad formicarum sollertiam nos mittentis]. c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 2217 in C. Horstmann (1887) 170 (MED) Ful of wormes was is flesch..Faste heo schouen and cropen al-so ase ametene [Harl. emeten] al a-boute. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 5985 (MED) As þikke as ameten crepeþ in an amete hulle. 1340 (1866) 141 (MED) Alsuo ase þe litel amote. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xxx. 25 Amptis [a1425 L.V. amtis], a feble puple, that greithen in rep time mete to them. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville (Vitell.) l. 10126 An Ampte..wyl nat dwelle In the vale cast doun lowe..But hyre afforceth a-noon ryht To remounte wyth al hyr myght. 1533 T. Elyot iii. xii. 66 b The lyttelle ant or emote helpeth up his felowe. 1555 i. i. sig. B.iii/1 He sawe by the earthe lowe Of Antes crepe passing greate plente. 1585 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI (new ed.) sig. B viij Pouder of Amptes, myxte with Oyle. 1611 Prov. vi. 6 Goe to the Ant [Wycl. ampte, amte, Coverd. Emmet], thou sluggard. View more context for this quotation 1642 Sir T. Browne 30 The wisdome of Bees, Annts and Spiders. 1733 A. Pope iii. 186 The Ants Republic, and the Realm of Bees. 1774 O. Goldsmith VIII. 124 The working ants having..deposed their queens. 1838 X. 372 Formic Acid, or acid of ants. 1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon ii. iv. i. 213 When the Red Ant (Formica Rufa) crawls over a piece of litmus paper, it produces a red track. 1923 21 June 24/4 Here's the straight oil for keeping ants out of safes. 1984 E. Olson iii. 59 All your tumultuous history is no more Than the gesticulations of an ant. 2009 (U.K. ed.) July 17/1 Ants are notoriously efficient undertakers, carrying off dead nestmates before the corpses can infect the colony. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > the wasps > family Mutillidae > member of 1625 S. Purchas II. ix. xii. 1561 Besides which Statues, they haue Chinas, which are Pyramides with Cells within, wherein are kept white Ants. 1747 M. Catesby II. App. Pl. 13 The Velvet Ant... The whole body and head resembled crimson velvet. 1842 XXIV. 233 The Termites, or white ants, as they are often called, though they have little affinity with the true ants, are chiefly confined to the tropics. 1881 V. 381 The Spider Ants (Mutillæ). 1900 34 353 The cow-killer ant (burrowing mutillid wasp, female wingless), Sphærophthalma sp. 1980 M. Thelwell i. 13 The hillsides had been alive with activity like when you stir up a duck ant's nest. 2001 10 Mar. 23/1 Insects such as velvet ants, milkweed bugs and ladybirds scurry around in the moss. Phrasesthe mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > be in state of nervous excitement [phrase] 1930 K. Nicholson i. 46 Some of the boys around town sure got ants in their pants over her. 1930 J. Lait 199 Ants in the Socks, designating a person of energy and pep. 1931 B. Carter in P. Oliver (1960) iv. 131 I got ants in my pants, baby, for you. 1935 Aug. 56/2 After I sent Spud for the paint, I began prowling around the store like I had ants in my pants. 1938 Mar. 9 This guy gets so worked up when he hears swing that he can't sit still but jumps around as if he had ants in his pants. 1938 Mar. 145/2 He had to lam out of Havana... He's got ants in his socks. 1939 ‘J. Spenser’ 67 C'mon, Batty... I've got ants in my toes. Let's go. 1949 M. P. Quigley 38 These two buddies of mine had ants in their britches, and they wanted to..go to some other place where there might be some babes. 1954 E. McLeod tr. Colette i. i. 5 Once again I'm ready too soon. My friend..takes me to task... ‘You've always got ants in your pants.’ 1976 P. Cave i. 13 The travel bug. Ants in your suitcase. 1986 10 July b5/3 Uncle Milton has ants in his pants. 2005 S. Thomas 123 The thought of it hanging so near him put ants in his veins. 2010 J. Rosenbaum iii. 246 He does it a third time, pausing first to rock back and forth..a good many times, as if he had ants in his pants. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. 1747 W. Gould 98 One Use of Ant-Colonies is to sustain the above mentioned, and perhaps other Species of Birds and Animals. 1897 J. H. Comstock viii. 276 The workers are by far the most interesting portion of the ant colony. 2006 J. T. Costa xviii. 600 Other gregarious myrmecophiles live very closely with their attendant ants, often within the ant colony itself. 1831 J. Rennie 342 These three colonies were all quite distinct, and none subjected to another in the relation of masters and slaves, as, strange to tell, sometimes occurs in ant communities. 1924 J. A. Thomson xii. 67 The success of the ant-community depends on a semi-repression of the workers. 2002 29 Apr. 63/3 Like an insect European Union, a single ant community stretches nearly 4,000 miles from Italy to Spain. 1780 W. Smellie tr. Comte de Buffon V. 334 In South America, there are three animals, with..a long round tongue, that they thrust into the ant-nests. 1875 IV. 96/2 Wood lice are..found..within the ant-nest. 1923 Mar. 312 These bear a certain albeit superficial resemblance to ant nests, but express very clearly the cryptobiotic tendencies of the termites. 2002 (Nexis) 6 Sept. c8 Mr. Scott brought in from his truck a granule mix made up of orthoboric acid to kill the ant nests and a residual spray..to kill other general pests. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch 968 She goes to finde out ants nests, where she sits her downe lilling out the tongue which is glibbe and soft, with a kinde of sweet and slimy humour, untill it be full of ants and their egges. 1736 T. Boreman (ed. 3) i. 7 It [sc. the Ant-Bear] feeds on Ants, and is commonly seen near an Ant's Nest. 1861 J. G. Wood (new ed.) I. 393 The ‘tappen’ is almost entirely composed of pine-leaves, and the various substances which the Bear scratches out of the ants' nests. 1979 R. Stow (1991) ii. 84 There was only like an ants-nest of people, rushing about and holding their arms to the sky. 2008 13 Mar. 7/2 The large blue has been reintroduced after scientists discovered its unique habitat—its caterpillars live in ants' nests. b. 1767 I. 80 Those mischievous ants..form the closest connections with an ant-eating race to annoy and destroy his peaceable, faithful, and industrious subjects. 1875 C. C. Blake 85 The ant-eating forms of edentata. 2009 D. Dixon 8 (caption) Modern ant-eating animals, such as the Australian echidna, have big claws on their hands. C2. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > [noun] > family Formicariidae (ant bird) 1858 13 Apr. 202 Synopsis of the American Ant-birds (Formicariidæ). 1968 70 143/1 A preening female Lunulated Antbird gaped as a male alighted one meter off. 2003 Spring 42/2 A specialized suite of nimble little antbirds darts about the orchestrated chaos of the front lines, picking off the injured and disoriented insects. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Neocossyphus (ant-thrush) 1825 C. L. Bonaparte I. 7 The Rocky-Mountain Antcatcher is the first and only species hitherto discovered in North America. 1868 (at cited word) The true ant-catchers..are of comparatively sober plumage, live among the huge ant-hills, seldom fly. 1996 B. W. Edginton vii. 61 In Guyana as a whole, there are, in fact, twelve species of ant-bird, plus three of ant-catcher, nine of ant-creeper, eight of ant-thrush and five of ant-wren. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Homoptera > family Aphis 1833 (Soc. Promoting Christian Knowl.) 54 (heading) Ants' cows.] 1875 II. 98/1 The Coccidæ in America take the place of the European aphides as ant-cows. 1996 T. A. Scott tr. F. W. Stöcker et al. 70/2 The European jet ant (Lasius fuliginosus) and related species of Lasius exploit aphids, which are then popularly known as ‘ant cows’. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > larva(e) eOE (Royal) (1865) i. lxxxvii. 156 Wiþ þon þe hær ne weaxe, æmettan ægru genim, gnid, smit on þa stowe. c1450 tr. Palladius (Bodl. Add.) i. l. 680 Annt eyron yeve hem [sc. young pheasants] eke. 1549 T. Broke tr. J. Calvin sig. Cviv We wyll maliciously make, of ant egges, ant hylles, and sette out the matter at length. 1657 S. Purchas 195 They grow quickly as great as Ant-eggs, and as long. 1797 Earl Macartney in G. M. Theal (1898) II. 99 The proper Bosjesmen..feed upon..ant eggs which they call Rice, & which serve them for a great part of their food. 1849 W. H. Furness tr. G. H. Schubert vii. 27 Scarcely has the ant crawled out of its chrysalis, or pupa-state, (commonly called the ant-egg) when..it immediately joins its elder associates. 1994 R. Purvis iii. 25 A fresh ant egg resembles a grain of rice. 2007 M. O'Shea 10/2 Most pygopods prey on ant eggs and soft-bodied invertebrates. 1862 6 30 The enclosure surrounding the orchard has prevented the approach of cattle to the ant-farms.] 1910 25 771/1 Hardly a day passes but that I receive fool letters..about ‘Your friend's ant farm’. 1931 14 June 3/2 William [sc. an anteater] was a member of the party so that he might sample the fare that would form part of the new ant farm at the zoo. 1957 Nov. 100/4 (advt.) An ant's entire world seen through the clear plastic walls of this unbreakable, escape-proof Ant Farm. 1981 F. Vrazo in O. Davis (?1983) 345 The test involves building a giant ant farm..and..recording everything with a minicamera. 2000 3 Dec. 48/3 The combination of Kenneth Starr's investigations and a particularly indiscreet White House staff left the East and West Wings as exposed as an ant farm. the world > animals > by habitat > [noun] > of a particular region (fauna) > of particular type > that lives in ants' nest 1872 7 231/2 (heading) Ant Guests.—There are several species of beetles which are never seen in any other localities than ants' nests. a1933 J. A. Thomson (1934) I. xiii. 310 There seems no end to these strange linkages in the web of life—caterpillars, ant-guests, and ants all woven together! 2006 W. R. Tschinkel xxxiv. 594 Some ant guests may exploit the same tendency. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > that form ant-hills > ant-hill 1591 R. Percyvall Dict. Hormiguero, an ant heape, Formicarium, myrmicetum. 1757 T. Coe v. 288 Curing the jaundice..was to be done by the patients pissing upon an ant heap. 1859 E. Burritt in S. Smiles 82 That plodding, patient, persevering process of accretion which builds the ant-heap. 1869 3 339 The ‘ant-heap’..is put to a great diversity of purposes in the constructive arts. 1901 W. L. Sclater II. 220 The aard-vark..make an opening in the side of the ant-heap and then collect the ants by means of their sticky tongues. 1995 N. R. Mandela i. ii. 7 The floor was made of crushed ant-heap. 2007 L. St John (2008) 43 For reasons unknown, Charm had decided to take a shortcut over the ant heap. 2015 (Nexis) 29 Jan. The earliest farmsteads were nondescript three-room dwellings hastily constructed from rough stone, earth and clay; later smoothed over using ant-heap earth. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > that form ant-hills > ant-hill 1656 R. Baxter 48 You that are now so idlely busie in gathering together the Treasurie of an Ant-hillock, and building Childrens tottering piles. 1713 J. Addison No. 156 Those who have seen Ant-hillocks, have..perceived those small Heaps of corn about their Nests. 1836 R. King II. xvii. 200 This woodpecker leaves the depths of the forests to seek the open downs, where it employs itself in turning over the ant-hillocks. 2000 E. J. T. Collins VII. i. ii. 103 Large spongy pasture-fields, so encumbered with vast ant-hillocks that nothing but an accomplished hunter could gallop among them with safety. 1817 W. Kirby & W. Spence II. xvii. 58 Huber..invented a kind of ant-hive, so constructed as to enable him to observe their proceedings without disturbing them. 1869 J. G. Wood (new ed.) p. xiv (heading) Ant-hive or formicary. 1932 26 Oct. 592/1 An ant hive is constructed of glass, and for this reason all the workings of the living, growing colony of insects may be easily watched and photographed. 2007 D. Hughes I. i. 11 The Bronze Age Britons..were themselves organized into a highly regimented society like an ant-hive. 1863 10 Jan. 169/2 In popular parlance we designate one [Entomologist] as the ‘Ant-man’, another as the ‘Eupithecia-man’. 1864 Sept. 24/2 The ant-man does not ordinarily arrive till a day or two after he is sent for. 1901 H. G. Wells xxii. 272 These ant-like beings, these ant-men. 1949 G. R. Stewart i. v. 91 He could remember that constant battle—his mother's cry of dismay at finding a line of them in the kitchen,..and the constant debate about whether they should summon the ant-man. 1984 D. Brin iii. iii. 47 To be slain on sight by mammal-hating antmen, for instance, would have merely been unavoidable bad luck. 2008 10 Mar. 66/3 And in the end they look no more like Black Canary or Ant-Man than does the poor zhlub in the Venom mask. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > that form ant-hills > ant-hill 1830 R. Walsh II. 78 To the ant-mounds of the Campos, the negroes attach an extraordinary superstition. 1909 No. 353. (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 15 The ant mounds are found throughout western Kansas and the neighboring States. 2005 R. Schaetzl & S. Anderson ii. x. 253/1 Many ant mounds are small and some ants do not build mounds at all. 1907 Nov. 7 I am told this plant [sc. Caladenia Barbarossae] is known in some places as 'The Ant Orchid'. I fail to trace any resemblance to an ant. The grotesque shape of the labellum suggests to me some member of the mantis order. 1961 (Soc. Growing Austral. Plants) I. viii. 5 C. formicifera..(callus resembles an ant). The Ant Orchid. 1999 S. D. Hopper & P. Nikulinsky 104 The ant orchid is one of the species adapted for pollination by deceit of male flower wasps. 1898 E. E. Morris 5/1 Ant-orchis, an Australian and Tasmanian orchid, Chiloglottis gunnii, Lind. 1906 39/2 Chiloglottis gunnii, Lind.: Ant Orchis. 1886 6 i. 471 ‘Ant-plants’ of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago and New Guinea. 1942 Dec. 538/1 Cherry laurel is one of the ‘ant-plants’, and the Argentine ant fondly feeds on the secretions from the nectaries on the leaves. 2019 (Nexis) 21 May Ant plants..grow bulbous stems filled with chambers specifically to house ants. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > non-British grasses > [noun] > American or West Indian 1861 19 7574 The cities were invariably planted at the proper season with ant rice. 1879 J. Lubbock iv. 109 A Texan ant..is also a harvesting species, storing up especially the grains of Aristida oligantha, the so-called ‘ant rice’. 1954 F. C. Lane 95 These ants erect a mound of earth several feet high. Beneath it they dig extensive chambers. All surrounding vegetation is cleared away except their chief food, ant rice. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > ant eggs the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > larva(e) 1495 (de Worde) xix. xciv. sig. ll.vijv/1 Amptes egges [a1398 BL Add. 27944 empte eiren] ben ful lityll..yf in ony wyse they ben remeuyd..the amptes gadreth theim & beeryth theym ayen to theyr neest. 1579 T. Lupton viii. 198 If you stampe Ants egges, & strayne them through a cloath, and put therevnto the iuyce of Swynes grasse, or Knot grasse, and distyll it into the eares: it helpes a long continewed deafnes. 1667 (Royal Soc.) 2 427 In the Morning they bring up those of their Young (that are vulgarly call'd Ants Eggs) towards the top of the Bank. 1730 T. Boreman iv. 209 A Bee is first an Egg..not so long nor big, as an Ant's Egg. 1834 II. 61/1 To collect the cocoons (popularly and erroneously called ants'-eggs) in quantity as food for nightingales and larks. a1933 J. A. Thomson (1934) I. xiii. 260 These white pupae, popularly and badly called ‘ants' eggs’, are, of course, the chrysalid stage between the grub (or larva) and the fully formed adult. 2002 J. Reese 380 It was the mentioning of ants' eggs that prompted old Inez to stand. the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > South American and West Indian trees or shrubs > [noun] > saffron plum 1884 C. S. Sargent (10th Census IX.) 103 Bumelia cuneata... Ants' Wood. Downward Plum. Saffron Plum. 1921 35 69 A considerable part of it [sc. a hammock] consisted of a small tree or large shrub, a Bumelia or ant's wood, with narrow leaves and innumerable branches. 2004 D. F. Austin 543/1 Prunus myrtifolia..ants-wood (Jamaica). 1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius ii. 444/1 Verruca sessilis, vel formicans... An ant wart, which being deepe rooted, broad below, and litle aboue, doth make one feele as it were the stinging of ants, when the same is pulled at: or else it is so called for colours sake, because it is black like an ant. 1659 G. Torriano Verruca formicante, a wartle black like an ant, and therefore called an ant-wart. 1785 D. Low vii. 66 The Latins called then verrucæ formicaria; which, uncouth as the expression sounds, may be translated Ant-Warts. 1845 L. Durlacher xi. 114 They are termed sessiles, or verruca formicariæ or myrmecia. The name ‘ant-wart’ has been applied to them somewhat fancifully. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > larva(e) 1747 W. Gould 39 Ant Worms can only a little turn or extend their Bodies. 1763 R. Goadby v. 93 It is observable of Ant-Worms, that they have not a locomotive Faculty, or a Power of moving from one Place to another. 1850 1 97 Peas grow very well, but are very difficult to raise on account of the attacks from the ant worm. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 562 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The insects that afflict and sometimes wholly destroy the cotton plant, viz., the cotton louse, the ant worm, the cotton worm or moth, [etc.]. 1919 (Bradley Fertilizer Works) ii. 52 The Tomato Fruit Worm ('ant worm'), pick by hand or use poison bait. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > [noun] > family Formicariidae (ant bird) > types of 1825 W. Swainson in (1826) 2 146 The Formicivoræ, or Ant-Wrens, are all of them very small. 1914 July 30/2 These ant-wrens hover in front of and over the columns of foraging ants, feeding not only on the other insects aroused by the ants, but on the ants themselves. 2003 Dec. 114/2 A bird called the black-capped antwren was actually three species. Derivatives 1658 R. Brathwait 105 I have no time to think of Conscience For timely thrift, and Ant-like providence. 1781 C. Lofft i. 26 O mass, Great and stupendous, if the groveling soul Cling ant-like to the hillock! 1879 ‘G. Eliot’ xvii. 302 Every petty ant-like performance. 1941 Mar. 26/2 The devastated area in either direction was aswarm with salvage and repairing machines, scurrying antlike over shattered buildings. 2004 E. Reid iii. 95 The Vietcong are very antlike and crafty, fond of pits and tunnels. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022). Antn.2 Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: antlia n.; English Antliae. Etymology: Shortened < antlia n. (see antlia n. 1; partly also < its genitive form Antliae), originally as a graphic abbreviation. Astronomy. 1922 1 158 The following resolutions were adopted [at the first General Assembly of the IAU]: (1) The exclusive use of the Latin names of the constellations. (2) The adoption of the three-letter abbreviations proposed by Profs. Hertzsprung and Russell for the representation of the 88 principal constellations... Ant Antlia. 1994 271 919/1 UX Ant has been observed by amateur networks such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). > see alsoalso refers to : -antsuffix1 also refers to : -antsuffix2 also refers to : -antsuffix3 > as lemmasant the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (intransitive)] > clean the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (transitive)] > clean 1944 [see main sense]. 1959 1 Mar. 19/4 Starlings and rooks will ‘ant’, without ants, on smoking chimney-pots. Tame birds will ant with matches or cigarette ends. <  n.1eOE n.21922see also as lemmas |
