Etymology : Middle English lous, from Old English lus; akin to Old High German lus louse, Welsh llau lice
Pronunciation : laus
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. small flightless parasitic insect which lives on the bodies of humans and other mammals. person who is worthy of contempt (Slang). mess up, spoil (Slang); complicate, confuse (Slang); remove lice from. louse\louse\ (lous), n.; pl. lice (līs). [oe. lous, as. lūs, pl. l&ymacr;s; akin to d. luis, g. laus, ohg. lūs, icel. lūs, sw. lus, dan. luus; perh. so named because it is destructive, and akin to e. lose, loose.] (zo?l.).
2. any one of numerous species of small, wingless, suctorial, parasitic insects belonging to a tribe (pediculina), now usually regarded as degraded hemiptera. to this group belong of the lice of man and other mammals; as, the head louse of man (pediculus capitis), the body louse (p. vestimenti), and the crab louse (phthirius pubis), and many others. see:
crab louse, dog louse, cattle louse , etc., under crab, dog, etc.
3. any one of numerous small mandibulate insects, mostly parasitic on birds, and feeding on the feathers. they are known as mallophaga, or bird lice, though some occur on the hair of mammals. they are usually regarded as degraded pseudoneuroptera. see:
mallophaga.
4. any one of the numerous species of aphids, or plant lice. see:
aphid.
5. any small crustacean parasitic on fishes. see:
branchiura, and ichthvophthira.note: the term is also applied to various other parasites; as, the whale louse, beelouse, horse louse.louse fly (zo?l.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the group pupipara. some of them are wingless, as the bee louse.louse mite (zo?l.), any one of numerous species of mites which infest mammals and birds, clinging to the hair and feathers like lice. they belong to myobia, dermaleichus, mycoptes, and several other genera.louse \louse\ , v. t. to clean from lice. "you sat and loused him."louse n.
6. wingless usually flattened blood-sucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals [syn: sucking louse].
7. has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect [syn: worm, insect, dirt ball].
8. any of several small insects especially aphids that feed by sucking the juices from plants [syn: plant louse].
9. wingless insect with mouth parts adapted for biting; mostly parasitic on birds [syn: bird louse, biting louse].
10. Any one of numerous species of small, wingless, suctorial, parasitic insects belonging to a tribe , now usually regarded as degraded Hemiptera.
11. To this group belong of the lice of man and other mammals; as, the head louse of man , the body louse , and the crab louse , and many others.
12. See Crab louse, Dog louse, Cattle louse, etc., under Crab, Dog, etc.
13. Any one of numerous small mandibulate insects, mostly parasitic on birds, and feeding on the feathers.
14. They are known as Mallophaga, or bird lice, though some occur on the hair of mammals.
15. They are usually regarded as degraded Pseudoneuroptera.
16. See Mallophaga.
17. Any one of the numerous species of aphids, or plant lice.
18. See Aphid.
19. Any small crustacean parasitic on fishes.
20. See Branchiura, and Ichthvophthira.
21. To clean from lice. wingless usually flattened blood-sucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals.
22. Lice are small insects that live on the bodies of people or animals and bite them in order to feed off their blood. louse up to make something worse rather than better, or to spoil something = mess up. Any of some 3,300 species of small, wingless, parasitic insects of the order Phthiraptera. The order consists mainly of biting, or chewing, lice (parasites of birds and mammals) and sucking lice (see:
sucking louse). The louse's body is flattened. The eggs, or nits, are cemented to the hair or plumage of the host, and most species spend their entire lives on the bodies of host animals. Heavy infestations cause much irritation and may lead to secondary infections. In moving from host to host, lice may spread many diseases, including tapeworm infestation in dogs and murine typhus in rats. louse human wood louse sucking louse.