Etymologically
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mantis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 13 October 2026 at 00:45. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmæntɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin Mantis,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis, “prophet, seer”),[6][2][3][4][7] which Theocritus also used of a kind of long insect with long forelimbs.[3][8] It is related to μαίνεσθαι (maínesthai, “to be inspired, be mad”) and μένος (ménos, “passion, spirit”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”);[3][6] compare mania and -mancy.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

An insect that holds its forelegs as if in prayer, especially the praying mantis (1646 in Merriam-Webster and the Historical Thesaurus; 1658 in the OED and Barnhart).[4][9][10][2]

Semantic evolution

The Greeks compared the raised forelegs of a mantis waiting for prey to the hands of a prophet at prayer.[6][11] The insect is named for this posture, so praying mantis and the species name Mantis religiosa are somewhat redundant.[6][11] Other names of the same kind were praying locust and orator mantis, from an old sense of orator, “one who prays”.[6] The mantis shrimp (by 1853; earlier sea-mantis, 1690s) is named for its likeness to the insect.[3]

Timeline

  • 1646 – the insect (Merriam-Webster).[4][9]
  • 1658 – first quotation in the OED.[10][2]
  • 1850 – mantis-crab, mantis-shrimp.[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of various predatory insects of the family Mantidae, chiefly tropical, with a long body and powerful grasping forelimbs held up as if in prayer; a praying mantis.

Word family

  • praying mantis
  • mantis crab
  • mantis shrimp

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  10. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b From Abracadabra to Zeus: Word Histories and Mysteries (2004), Boston: Houghton Mifflin (American Heritage Dictionaries)