C14 (literally: urinating ant, from the odour of formic acid characteristic of anant hill): from piss + obsolete mire ant, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse maurr, Middle Low German mīre ant
pismire in American English
(ˈpɪsˌmaɪr; ˈpɪzˌmaɪr)
noun
Archaic
an ant
Word origin
ME pissemire < pisse, urine + mire, ant (< Scand, as in Dan myre, Swed myra < IE base *morwi-, ant > L formica): from the odor of formic acid, discharged by ants