Weevil

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: wee=vil

CIDE DICTIONARY

Weevil, n. [OE. wivel, wevil, AS. wifel, wibil; akin to OD. wevel, OHG. wibil, wibel, G. wiebel, wibel, and probably to Lith. vabalas beetle, and E. weave. See Weave.].

 Any one of numerous species of snout beetles, or Rhynchophora, in which the head is elongated and usually curved downward. Many of the species are very injurious to cultivated plants. The larvæ of some of the species live in nuts, fruit, and grain by eating out the interior, as the plum weevil, or curculio, the nut weevils, and the grain weevil (see under Plum, Nut, and Grain). The larvæ of other species bore under the bark and into the pith of trees and various other plants, as the pine weevils (see under Pine). See also Pea weevil, Rice weevil, Seed weevil, under Pea, Rice, and Seed.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Weevil, n.
1 any destructive beetle of the family Curculionidae, with its head extended into a beak or rostrum and feeding esp. on grain.
2 any insect damaging stored grain.

Derivative

weevily adj.

Etymology

ME f. MLG wevel f. Gmc