parasite
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
parasite/ˈparəsʌɪt/
▶noun
- 1 an organism which lives in or on another organism and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.
- 2 derogatory a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return.
– derivatives
parasiticide noun.
parasiticide noun.
– origin C16: via L. from Gk parasitos ‘(person) eating at another's table’, from para- ‘alongside’ + sitos ‘food’.
'parasite' also found in these Oxford entries:
anopheles
- bilharzia
- cystic
- deer fly
- ectoparasite
- endoparasite
- facultative
- free-living
- haustorium
- host
- hyperparasite
- invade
- ked
- lubber
- malaria
- obligate
- onchocerciasis
- parasitic
- parasitize
- phoresy
- phytoalexin
- phytotoxin
- pinworm
- stylops
- toxocara
- varroa
- vector
