lice : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: lice	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for lice
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Lice \Lice\ (l[imac]s), n.; pl. of {Louse}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Louse \Louse\ (lous), n.; pl. {Lice} (l[imac]s). [OE. lous, AS. l[umac]s, pl. l[ymac]s; akin to D. luis, G. laus, OHG. l[umac]s, Icel. l[umac]s, Sw. lus, Dan. luus; perh. so named because it is destructive, and akin to E. lose, loose.] (Zo[94]l.) 1. Any one of numerous species of small, wingless, suctorial, parasitic insects belonging to a tribe ({Pediculina}), now usually regarded as degraded Hemiptera. To this group belong of the lice of man and other mammals; as, the head louse of man ({Pediculus capitis}), the body louse ({P. vestimenti}), and the crab louse ({Phthirius pubis}), and many others. See {Crab louse}, {Dog louse}, {Cattle louse}, etc., under {Crab}, {Dog}, etc. 2. Any one of numerous small mandibulate insects, mostly parasitic on birds, and feeding on the feathers. They are known as Mallophaga, or bird lice, though some occur on the hair of mammals. They are usually regarded as degraded Pseudoneuroptera. See {Mallophaga}. 3. Any one of the numerous species of aphids, or plant lice. See {Aphid}. 4. Any small crustacean parasitic on fishes. See {Branchiura}, and {Ichthvophthira}. Note: The term is also applied to various other parasites; as, the whale louse, beelouse, horse louse. {Louse fly} (Zo[94]l.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the group Pupipara. Some of them are wingless, as the bee louse. {Louse mite} (Zo[94]l.), any one of numerous species of mites which infest mammals and birds, clinging to the hair and feathers like lice. They belong to {Myobia}, {Dermaleichus}, {Mycoptes}, and several other genera.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Lice (Heb. kinnim), the creatures employed in the third plague sent upon Egypt (Ex. 8:16-18). They were miraculously produced from the dust of the land. "The entomologists Kirby and Spence place these minute but disgusting insects in the very front rank of those which inflict injury upon man. A terrible list of examples they have collected of the ravages of this and closely allied parasitic pests." The plague of lice is referred to in Ps. 105:31. Some have supposed that the word denotes not lice properly, but gnats. Others, with greater probability, take it to mean the "tick" which is much larger than lice.