Etymology

termite

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Today it means: A colonial insect of the infraorder Isoptera, in the order Blattodea; typically known for certain white-bodied species that devour and infest wood, though other species eat different plant matter, such as grasses. Full definition →

English termitesbf. ← Latin termitēs
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The story

  1. Latintermes
  2. Latintermitēs
  3. Englishtermitesbf.
  4. English todaytermite

Inferred singular of termites, the plural form borrowed from Latin termites, the plural of Latin termes (“woodworm”), which was used for termites by Linnaeus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.