weevil
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weevil
- /ˈwiːv(ə)l/ UK
- /ˈwiːvɪl/ US
Rhymes with -iːvəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English wevel, from Old English wifel (“beetle”), from Proto-West Germanic *wibil, from Proto-Germanic *wibilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰel-, from *(h₁)webʰ- (“to wave, to weave”), said to be from the woven appearance of a weevil’s larval case, + *-el-, *-l̥- (diminutive or attributive suffix); see also wave and weave.
Compare Old Saxon *wivil (“beetle”); Middle Low German wevel; Old High German wibil, wipil (modern German Wiebel (“beetle; chafer”)); Lithuanian vãbalas (“beetle; weevil”); Old Norse vifill, as in tordyfill (“dung beetle, scarab”) (whence Dutch tortwevel; Icelandic tordýfill, Norwegian tordivel, Old English tordwifel, Swedish tordyvel); dialectal Russian ве́блица (véblica, “intestinal worm”).
noun weevils
- Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles, ranging in size from tiny to large, in the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most characteristic species having the head projecting in a distinctive snout with the mouthparts at the tip.
-
Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles of various sizes, in the family Curculionidae within the superfamily Curculionoidea.
Near-synonym: snout beetle (usually synonymous)
Similar: true weevil, snout beetle
- Any of many similar, but more distantly related, beetles such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum).
- A loathsome person. But you accuse other men of villainy with too easy a tongue, you weevil. I have never wanted you in this matter, and I have said so.
Translations
Every language
noun beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea
| Español | gorgojo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 바구미 bagumi |
| 日本語 | 象虫 zōmushi, ゾウムシ zōmushi |
| 中文 | 象鼻蟲 /象鼻虫 xiàngbíchóng |
| Português | gorgulho |
| Français | charançon, balanin, cosson |
| Deutsch | Rüsselkäfer |
| Italiano | curculione, calandra, balanino |
| Ελληνικά | βρούχος vroúchos |
| Русский | долгоно́сик dolgonósik |
noun beetle in the family Curculionidae
| Español | gorgojo, picudo |
|---|---|
| Português | gorgulho |
| Deutsch | Rüsselkäfer |
Talk about this word "weevil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/weevil. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. weevil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/weevil "weevil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/weevil.Cite this
@misc{weevil_2026,
title = {weevil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/weevil},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
