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Added 2 October 2026

wasp

/wɒsp/ noun

In Latin: vespa, dolichovespa Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wasp at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila). Any of the members of the family Vespidae.
Any of the members of the family Vespidae.

verb

To move like a wasp; to buzz.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of WASP (“white Anglo-Saxon Protestant”).

Origin

Inherited from Middle English wappes, waps, wasp, waspe, from Old English wæfs, wæps, wæsp, from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō (“wasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *wóbʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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