Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The typical genus of Lepismatidæ, having three long and four short caudal filaments, very long antennæ, and the body flat and scaly.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A genus of wingless thysanurous insects having an elongated flattened body, covered with shining scales and terminated by seven unequal bristles. A common species (
Lepisma saccharina ) is found in houses, and often injures books and furniture; it feeds on starch and eats sized paper and starched clothes. Called alsoshiner ,silverfish ,silver witch ,silver moth , andfurniture bug .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun type genus of the Lepismatidae: silverfish
Etymologies
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Examples
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Both are very old and stained and bitten by the _bête-à-ciseau_, a species of _lepisma_, which destroys books and papers, and everything it can find exposed.
Two Years in the French West Indies Lafcadio Hearn 1877
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