Vermin

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• Vermin — is a term applied to various animal species regarded as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area… …   Wikipedia

• Vermin — Ver min, n. sing. & pl.; used chiefly as plural. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See {Vermicular}, {Worm}.] 1. An animal, in general. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Wherein were all… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• vermin — c.1300, noxious animals, from Anglo Fr. and O.Fr. vermin, from V.L. *verminum vermin, possibly including bothersome insects, collective noun formed from L. vermis worm (see WORM (Cf. worm)). Extended to low, obnoxious people by 1560s …   Etymology dictionary

• vermin — is normally treated as a plural in both its meanings (‘mammals and birds that are harmful to other life’ and ‘vile or despicable people’), although it can refer to a single person or animal: • Suddenly the older of the two little girls said, ‘Why …   Modern English usage

• vermin — [vʉr′mən] n. pl. vermin [ME < OFr vermine < L vermis, a WORM] 1. [pl.] various insects, bugs, or small animals regarded as pests because destructive, disease carrying, etc., as flies, lice, rats, or weasels 2. [pl.] Brit. birds or animals… …   English World dictionary

• vermin — ► NOUN (treated as pl. ) 1) wild mammals and birds which are harmful to crops, farm animals, or game, or which carry disease. 2) parasitic worms or insects. 3) very unpleasant and destructive people. DERIVATIVES verminous adjective. ORIGIN Old… …   English terms dictionary

• vermin — n. 1) to exterminate vermin 2) (misc.) infested with vermin * * * [ vɜːmɪn] (misc.) infested with vermin to exterminate vermin …   Combinatory dictionary

• vermin —    ‘Thou vermin!’ says a man to another in The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson. This seems to have been something of a fashionable insult at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century. But as with ‘you rat’, which is a similar… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

• vermin — /verr min/, n., pl. vermin. 1. noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, esp. those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control, as flies, lice, bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, and rats. 2. an objectionable or… …   Universalium

• vermin — noun VERB + VERMIN ▪ consider sth, regard sth as ▪ Farmers regard foxes as vermin. ▪ attract ▪ control, deal with, shoot …   Collocations dictionary