Your ShelfYour Projects
Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Earwig

Ear'wig, n.

noun

n. [A-S. ear-wigga, ear-wicga, from ear, for eare, ear, and wicga, beetle, worm; Prov. Eng. erri-wiggle.]

  1. (Ent.) An insect with very short wing-cases, which eats fruit and flower leaves, and is so called because it has been erroneously supposed to creep into the human brain through the ear. The common species is Forficula auricularia.
  2. One who gains the ear of another by stealth, and whispers insinuations. Johnson.
An earwig is shown from above, with long antennae and pincers at the end of its abdomen.
Earwig.

Ear'wig, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. To gain the ear by stealth, and - whisper insinuations. [Colloq. Eng.]