Meanings
plural periodical cicadas
- Any of certain species of cicadas, especially in genus Magicicada, which are known for their 17- and 13-year life-cycles, during most of which they develop underground, emerging in large numbers for a short time as large and audible adults, all those emerging in a year constituting a brood.
An emergence is when a throng of periodical cicadas rises from the ground as soon as the soil reaches about 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The groups of magicicadas, known as broods, surface only once every 13 or 17 years depending on the species.
2013 May 3, Megan Buerger, “Bugged by Cicada Swarm? Don't Be”, in Wall Street Journal
Synonyms & antonyms
nounNorth American cicada; appears in great numbers at infrequent intervals because the nymphs take 13 to 17 years to mature
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish seitsentoistavuotiskaskas
- seitsentoistavuotiskaskascicada of the genus Magicicada
Cite this entry
periodical cicada. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodical%20cicada
“periodical cicada.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodical%20cicada. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “periodical cicada,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/periodical%20cicada.
Source: periodical cicada on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.