What does parasite mean?

Definitions for parasite
ˈpær əˌsaɪtpar·a·site

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word parasite.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. parasitenoun

    an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host

  2. leech, parasite, sponge, spongernoun

    a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

Wiktionary

  1. parasitenoun

    A (generally undesirable) living organism that exists by stealing the resources produced/collected by another living organism.

    Lice, fleas, ticks and mites are widely spread parasites.

  2. parasitenoun

    A person who relies on other people's efforts and gives little back (originally a sycophant).

  3. Etymology: From parasitus, from παράσιτος, from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά + σῖτος.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. PARASITEnoun

    One that frequents rich tables, and earns his welcome by flattery.

    Etymology: parasite, Fr. parasita, Latin.

    He is a flatterer,
    A parasite, a keeper back of death,
    Who gently would dissolve the bands of life,
    Which false hopes linger. William Shakespeare.

    Most smiling, smooth, detested parasites,
    Courteous destroyers, affable wolves, meek bears,
    You fools of fortune. William Shakespeare.

    Come, you parasite, answer me
    Directly to this question. William Shakespeare.

    Diogenes, when mice came about him, as he was eating, said, I see, that even Diogenes nourisheth parasites. Francis Bacon.

    Thou, with trembling fear,
    Or like a fawning parasite, obeyed;
    Then to thyself ascrib’st the truth foretold. John Milton.

    The people sweat not for their king’s delight,
    T’ enrich a pimp, or raise a parasite. Dryden.

Wikipedia

  1. parasite

    Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterised parasites as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the broomrapes. There are six major parasitic strategies of exploitation of animal hosts, namely parasitic castration, directly transmitted parasitism (by contact), trophically-transmitted parasitism (by being eaten), vector-transmitted parasitism, parasitoidism, and micropredation. One major axis of classification concerns invasiveness: an endoparasite lives inside the host's body; an ectoparasite lives outside, on the host's surface. Like predation, parasitism is a type of consumer–resource interaction, but unlike predators, parasites, with the exception of parasitoids, are typically much smaller than their hosts, do not kill them, and often live in or on their hosts for an extended period. Parasites of animals are highly specialised, and reproduce at a faster rate than their hosts. Classic examples include interactions between vertebrate hosts and tapeworms, flukes, the malaria-causing Plasmodium species, and fleas. Parasites reduce host fitness by general or specialised pathology, from parasitic castration to modification of host behaviour. Parasites increase their own fitness by exploiting hosts for resources necessary for their survival, in particular by feeding on them and by using intermediate (secondary) hosts to assist in their transmission from one definitive (primary) host to another. Although parasitism is often unambiguous, it is part of a spectrum of interactions between species, grading via parasitoidism into predation, through evolution into mutualism, and in some fungi, shading into being saprophytic. People have known about parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In early modern times, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observed Giardia lamblia in his microscope in 1681, while Francesco Redi described internal and external parasites including sheep liver fluke and ticks. Modern parasitology developed in the 19th century. In human culture, parasitism has negative connotations. These were exploited to satirical effect in Jonathan Swift's 1733 poem "On Poetry: A Rhapsody", comparing poets to hyperparasitical "vermin". In fiction, Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and its many later adaptations featured a blood-drinking parasite. Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien was one of many works of science fiction to feature a parasitic alien species.

ChatGPT

  1. parasite

    A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. It generally harms the host in the process, often causing various types of diseases. Parasites can be found across the animal and plant kingdoms, including many types of worms, insects, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Parasitenoun

    one who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant

  2. Parasitenoun

    a plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte

  3. Parasitenoun

    a plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus Torrubia

  4. Parasitenoun

    an animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc

  5. Parasitenoun

    an animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic jager

  6. Parasitenoun

    an animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the cowbird and the European cuckoo

  7. Etymology: [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr. para`sitos, lit., eating beside, or at the table of, another; para` beside + sitei^n to feed, from sitos wheat, grain, food.]

Wikidata

  1. Parasite

    The Parasite is the name of several fictional characters that appear in Superman comic book stories published by DC Comics. A supervillain, Parasite has the ability to temporarily absorb the energy, knowledge and super-powers of another being by touch, making him a formidable foe for the Man of Steel. In 2009, The Parasite was ranked as IGN's 61st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Parasite

    par′a-sīt, n. one who frequents another's table: a hanger-on: a sycophant: (bot.) a plant growing upon and nourished by the juices of another: (zool.) an animal which lives on another—its host.—adjs. Parasit′ic, -al, like a parasite: fawning: acting as a sycophant: living on other plants or animals.—adv. Parasit′ically.—ns. Parasit′icalness; Parasit′icide, that which destroys parasites; Par′asitism; Parasitol′ogist; Parasitol′ogy. [Fr.,—L. parasītus—Gr. parasitospara, beside, sitos, corn.]

Entomology

  1. Parasite

    a species that lives in or on another animal or insect, and depends upon the tissue of the host for its food supply.

Matched Categories

Anagrams for parasite »

  1. aspirate

  2. pastiera

How to pronounce parasite?

How to say parasite in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of parasite in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of parasite in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of parasite in a Sentence

  1. Alison Willmore:

    I can see a world where 'Parasite' could be a dark horse candidate. It's so beloved. Once we get past that, there is probably a chance for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

  2. John Vucetich:

    But parasites are at least as important as predation, to be a parasite is an easy way to make a living in the natural world.

  3. Mark Woolhouse:

    A better understanding of how this milder parasite may protect against the more lethal form of the disease could generate new approaches to reducing severe illness and deaths from malaria.

  4. Alison Willmore:

    Right now, it's looking like '1917''s to lose, i can see a world where 'Parasite' could be a dark horse candidate. It's so beloved. Once we get past that, there is probably a chance for 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'.

  5. Ovambo Proverb:

    A parasite cannot live alone

Popularity rank by frequency of use

parasite#10000#20858#100000

Translations for parasite

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"parasite." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/parasite>.

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