Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A mantis, especially the European species Mantis religiosa, which while at rest folds its front legs as if in prayer.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A praying-insect. See cut under
Mantis .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various predatory,
cannibalistic insects of the familyMantidae that have a prayer-like stance. - noun regional, in Europe A mantid of the species Mantis religiosa.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the common mantis
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Mantis from Greek μάντις. Named "praying mantis" for their stance, whith "hands" held together, resembling a person praying.
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Examples
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treeseed commented on the word praying mantis
The insect order Mantodea or mantises consists of approximatively 2,300 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats.
The term "mantises" (or the more colloquial "praying mantises") should be used when referring to the entire order. Often mistakenly spelled preying mantis (an eggcorn, since they are notoriously predatory), they are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis for prophet or fortune teller. In Europe, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
mollusque commented on the word praying mantis
Citation at kukla.
August 16, 2008
milosrdenstvi commented on the word praying mantis
One of Ogden Nash's finest:
From whence arrived the praying mantis?
From outer space, or lost Atlantis?
I glimpse the grin, green metal mug
That masks the pseudo-saintly bug,
Orthopterous, also carnivorous,
And faintly whisper, Lord deliver us.
August 16, 2008