Myrmecoid

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Resembling or characteristic of an ant in form or behavior
2. Having qualities that mimic the physical or behavioral attributes of ants
3. Having physical traits or actions similar to those of ants

Etymology: "Myrmecoid" is a plain technical coinage built from two parts that both come from Greek. The first part, "myrmeco-", comes from Greek "myrmēx", meaning "ant," and it appears in scientific vocabulary wherever ants are the subject. The second part, "-oid," comes from Greek "-oeidēs," meaning "resembling" or "having the form of," so it turns a noun into a word for something shaped like it. Put together, the adjective describes anything that looks like an ant in form without necessarily being one. Biologists and naturalists use this kind of formation for creatures that share an ant's body plan or appearance, a pattern common in the classifying language of the sciences, where a Greek root plus "-oid" quickly names a resemblance.