Bug

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /bʌɡ/

Definitions

1. An insect often recognized for its small size and six legs, a malfunction in technology that disrupts normal function, and the act of persistently irritating another individual through annoyance or interruptions
2. A small crawling or flying arthropod with a segmented body and legs ; an error or flaw in a computer program or device causing unexpected results ; to repeatedly disturb or irritate someone with persistent actions
3. Any tiny creature typically with wings and six legs ; a mistake in technology that causes malfunction or incorrect operation ; to vex or trouble someone by continual nagging or interruptions

Etymology: The insect sense is not the oldest one. Around 1620 the word already named a bedbug, and it grew out of "bugge," an earlier English term for a goblin or bugbear. Scholars have traced that older sense to a Celtic root linked to Welsh "bwg," meaning ghost or hobgoblin, and to Scots "bogill," a goblin. A second theory connects it to "buck" and a goat-shaped spectre, and a third ties it to an ancient root meaning "to swell," found in Norwegian "bugge" for a big man. The insect meaning may have been reinforced by a similar-sounding word for a louse or grub in Low German, but that overlap is a matter of resemblance, not proof of a merger. The two terms may have run side by side for a very long time. The sense of a technical fault is older than the familiar computing story. It was already in use in the 19th century, well before a moth was found stuck in a machine.

Synonyms: insect, pest, vermin, creature, beetle

Antonyms: beneficial organism, friend, ally, helper, aid