earwig
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
earwig/ˈɪəwɪɡ/
▶noun a small elongated insect with a pair of terminal appendages that resemble pincers. [Order Dermaptera: many species.] ▶verb (earwigs, earwigging, earwigged) Brit. informal eavesdrop.
– origin OE ēarwicga, from ēare ‘ear’ + wicga ‘earwig’ (prob. rel. to wiggle); the insect was once thought to crawl into the human ear.
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