Parasite

Parasite
Parasite Par"a*site (p[a^]r"[.a]*s[imac]t), n. [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr. para`sitos, lit., eating beside, or at the table of, another; para` beside + sitei^n to feed, from sitos wheat, grain, food.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]

Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would seek to be free guests at rich men's tables. --Udall. [1913 Webster]

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}. [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • parasite — [ parazit ] n. m. et adj. • v. 1500; lat. parasitus, gr. parasitos, de sitos « nourriture » I ♦ N. m. 1 ♦ Antiq. Commensal attaché à la table d un riche, et qui devait le divertir. ♢ Mod. Personne qui se nourrit en sachant se faire inviter chez… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • parasite — PARASITE. subst. masc. Escornifleur, qui fait mestier d aller manger à la table d autruy. Un franc parasite. un parasite affamé. c est le parasite d un tel …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • parasite — parasite, sycophant, favorite, toady, lickspittle, bootlicker, hanger on, leech, sponge, sponger all signify a person who is supported or sustained or seeks support or sustenance, usually physical but sometimes social or intellectual, from… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • parasite — (n.) 1530s, a hanger on, a toady, person who lives on others, from M.Fr. parasite, from L. parasitus, from Gk. parasitos person who eats at the table of another, from noun use of an adjective meaning feeding beside, from para beside (see PARA (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • parasite — [par′ə sīt΄] n. [L parasitus < Gr parasitos, one who eats at the table of another, parasite, toady < para , beside (see PARA 1) + sitos, food, grain] 1. a person, as in ancient Greece, who flattered and amused the host in return for free… …   English World dictionary

  • parasite — parasite. См. паразит. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • parasite — noun adsecula, barnacle, beggar, bloodsucker, borrower, burden, cadger, destructive agency, follower, leech, loafer, mendicant, nonworker, panhandler, scrounger, sponge, sycophant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • parasite — [n] something that exists by taking from or depending on another barnacle, bloodsucker*, bootlicker*, deadbeat*, dependent, flunky, freeloader*, groupie*, hanger on*, idler, leech, scrounger, sponge*, stooge*, sucker*, sycophant, taker*; concepts …   New thesaurus

  • parasite — Parasite, C est à dire Qui suit les lopins. Qui dit et fait tout au gré d autruy, et luy accorde tout pour avoir la repeuë franche, Un flateur pour les morceaux, Un patelin, Un jaquet. Parasitus …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • parasite — ► NOUN 1) an organism which lives in or on another organism and benefits at the other s expense. 2) derogatory a person who lives off or exploits others. DERIVATIVES parasitism noun parasitology noun. ORIGIN Greek parasitos person eating at… …   English terms dictionary

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