locust
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locust¹
- /ˈləʊ.kəst/ UK
- /ˈloʊ.kəst/ US
Rhymes with -əʊkəst, -oʊkəst
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English locuste, locust, from Anglo-Norman locuste, Middle French locuste, and their source, Latin locusta (“locust, crustacean, lobster”). Doublet of langouste.
Noun sense 3 (“kind of tree”), originally referring to the carob (compare locust bean), is based on the resemblance of the trees' beanlike seed pods to the insect and is likely a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ἀκρίς (akrís).
Noun sense 5 (“mainlander”) is a semantic loan from Cantonese 蝗蟲 /蝗虫 (wong4 cung4), also meaning "locust".
noun locusts
- Any of the grasshoppers, often polyphenic and usually swarming, in the family Acrididae that are very destructive to crops and other vegetation, especially migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria).
- A fruit or pod of a carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). Among other articles, they brought with them a great quantity of locusts, which are a kind of pulse, sweet and pleasant to the palate, and in shape resembling French beans, but longer.
- Any of various often leguminous trees and shrubs, especially of the genera Robinia and Gleditsia; locust tree.
- A cicada.
- A mainlander.
- A dose of laudanum. I took my flogging like a stone. If I had sung, some of the convicts would have given me some lush with a locust in it (laudanum hocussing), and when I was asleep would have given me a crack on the head that would have laid me straight.
verb locusts · locusting · locusted
- To come in a swarm. This Philip and the black-faced swarms of Spain, The hardest, cruellest people in the world, Come locusting upon us, eat us up, Confiscate lands, goods, money […]
Locust²
Where it comes from
Unknown.
proper noun Locusts
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: locust tree, cicada, katydid, grasshopper, crayfish, lobster, augustin, funds, fund, hopper, acridid, acridivore, orthoptera, locustelle, yellow locust, acridology
Translations
Every language
noun type of grasshopper
| Español | langosta, tucura, chapulín |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 메뚜기 mettugi, 황충 hwangchung |
| 日本語 | 飛蝗 batta, バッタ batta, 蝗 inago, イナゴ inago, ワタリバッタ wataribatta, 蝗虫 kōchū |
| 中文 | 蝗蟲 /蝗虫 huángchóng |
| हिन्दी | टिड्डी ṭiḍḍī |
| Kiswahili | nzige |
| Português | gafanhoto |
| Français | locuste, criquet |
| Deutsch | Heuschrecke, Wanderheuschrecke |
| Italiano | locusta |
| Ελληνικά | ακρίδα akrída |
| Română | lăcustă |
| Русский | саранча́ sarančá, саранчу́к sarančúk, сарана́ saraná |
| Tiếng Việt | châu chấu |
| العربية | جَرَادَة jarāda |
| עברית | אַרְבֶּה arbé, חָגָב khagáv |
Talk about this word "locust." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/locust. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. locust. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/locust "locust." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/locust.Cite this
@misc{locust_2026,
title = {locust},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/locust},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
