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Parasite - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Parasite : (noun)
1: an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another
animal or plant); the parasite obtains nourishment from
the host without benefiting or killing the host [ant: host]
2: a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the
host) in hope of gain or advantage [syn: leech, sponge,
sponger]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Parasite : \Par"a*site\, n. [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr. ?, lit.,
eating beside, or at the table of, another; ? beside _ ? to
feed, from ? wheat, grain, food.]
1. One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at
another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a
hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.
Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning
parasite, obey'st. --Milton.
Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would
seek to be free guests at rich men's tables.
--Udall.
2. (Bot.)
(a) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other
plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices
it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called
epiphyte.
(b) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported
at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus
Torrubia.
3. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its
existence on or in the body of some other animal,
feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice,
tapeworms, etc.
(b) An animal which steals the food of another, as the
parasitic jager.
(c) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another,
as the cowbird and the European cuckoo.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Parasite : Parasite: An organism that lives in or on and takes its nourishment from another organism. A parasite cannot live independently.
Parasitic diseases include infections by protozoa, helminths, and arthropods: - Protozoa -- vectors (carriers) of parasitic diseases.
The term "parasite" came from the Greek "parasitos" (para-, along side of _ sitos, food) meaning "eating at the side of, as at the same table." The sense of the term later changed to that of a poor
friend or relative who lived at the expense of another. Not until the 18th century did "parasite" come into English as a biologic term.
The study of parasites is parasitology.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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