Meanings
nounparasitoid (plural parasitoids)
plural parasitoids
- Any organism that is parasitic during part of its life cycle, especially one that eventually kills its host.
All of these solitary parasitoid wasps that use their sting-ovipositors for stinging prey and depositing eggs are subjected to little predatory pressure from large predators.
2016, Justin O. Schmidt, The Sting of the Wild, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 23
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*per-
- Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
- Proto-Hellenic*pərai
- Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ́ (părắ)
- Ancient Greekσῖτος (sîtos)
- Ancient Greekπαράσιτος (parásitos)
- Latinparasītus
- Middle Frenchparasite
- Englishparasite
- Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
- Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
- Proto-Hellenic*wéidos
- Ancient Greekεἶδος (eîdos)
- Englishparasitoid
Translations
French parasitoïde
- parasitoïdeorganism that is parasitic during part of its life cycle
Italian parassitoide
- parassitoideorganism that is parasitic during part of its life cycle
Russian паразитоид
- паразитоид (parazitoid)organism that is parasitic during part of its life cycle
Spanish parasitoide
- parasitoideorganism that is parasitic during part of its life cycle
Cite this entry
APA
parasitoid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitoid
MLA
“parasitoid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitoid. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parasitoid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parasitoid.
Source: parasitoid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.