mantis

See also: Mantis

English

A burying mantis, Sphodropoda tristis

Alternative forms

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *men-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *méntis
Proto-Hellenic *mə́tis
Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis)bor.
Latin mantisbor.
English mantis

    From New Latin mantis, from Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis, “soothsayer”). Distant doublet of mind via Proto-Indo-European *méntis.

    Noncognate with mantissa.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈmæntɪs/
    • Audio (US):(file)

    Noun

    mantis (countable and uncountable, plural mantises or mantes)

    1. Any of various large insects of the order Mantodea that catch insects or other small animals with their powerful forelegs.
      Synonym: (archaic) rear-horse
      • 2016 June 28, Nicola Davis, “Having your partner for dinner? Mantis cannibalism boosts fertility – study”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 March 2017:
        The scientists then allowed the males from one group of mantises to mate with females from the other.
      • 2021 May 27, Helen Sullivan, “A praying mantis: she bites into her mate’s head like an apple and cleans her face ‘like a cat’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 March 2023:
        Don’t get me wrong: I love mantises so much it is pathetic. They have that quality, like some views of a beautiful city, where it feels that you are seeing them for the first time, every time. Each mantis looks so perfect, so whole and individual.
    2. (uncountable) A green colour, like that of many mantises. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
      mantis:  

    Derived terms

    Translations

    See also

    extant orders of insects in English

    Anagrams

    Spanish

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈmantis/ [ˈmãn̪.t̪is]
    • Rhymes: -antis
    • Syllabification: man‧tis

    Noun

    mantis f (plural mantis)

    1. mantis

    Derived terms

    Further reading

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