Psocid

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Any tiny winged or wingless insect of the order Psocoptera, often found on bark, books, or damp paper
2. A minute soft-bodied insect belonging to the order Psocoptera, commonly called a booklouse or barklouse
3. A small insect with chewing mouthparts that feeds on fungi, lichens, and stored organic material in damp places

Etymology: Psocids are small insects, the booklice and barklice, and their name comes from a Greek word that sounds nothing like a bug. In ancient Greek, "psôkhos" meant something gnawed or scraped, and the insects were named for their habit of nibbling on dry materials such as bark, paper and old book bindings. The genus name "Psocus" was created in Translingual scientific Latin, and the "-idae" ending marks it as the family name, Psocidae, which is where English borrowed the word from. The story is a little roundabout. The Greek root reached taxonomists through a Pre-Greek element, which has no clear origin of its own, and the Greek endings "-ides" and "-eidēs" (meaning "resembling" or "belonging to") were added as the name was formalised. English took the word in its scientific form, so "psocid" is a modern technical coinage, not a term that circulated in ancient Greek or Latin.

Synonyms: booklouse, barklouse