n. [ OE. waspe, AS. wæps, wæfs; akin to D. wesp, G. wespe, OHG. wafsa, wefsa, Lith. vapsa gadfly, Russ. osa wasp, L. vespa, and perhaps to E. weave. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus
☞ The social wasps make a complex series of combs, of a substance like stiff paper, often of large size, and protect them by a paperlike covering. The larvae are reared in the cells of the combs, and eat insects and insect larvae brought to them by the adults, but the latter feed mainly on the honey and pollen of flowers, and on the sweet juices of fruit. See Illust. in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]
Digger wasp,
Mud wasp.
Potter wasp.
Wasp fly,
[ 1913 Webster ]
a.
He was naturally a waspish and hot man. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]
Much do I suffer, much, to keep in peace
This jealous, waspish, wrong-head, rhyming race. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]
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