locust English · revision 872

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈləʊ.kəst/ ''(UK)''; /ˈloʊ.kəst/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|locuste]], [[bor|fro|locuste]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and directly [[der|la|lōcusta|t=locust; lobster]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a word related to [[lobster]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A grasshopper noted for migrating in swarms that destroy vegetation (before 1325 in Barnhart; early 14c. in Etymonline; c. 1200 in the OED, in the French form ''languste'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED notes that the Hebrew Bible has nine names for the insect, variously rendered in English Bibles as ''locust'', ''grasshopper'', ''caterpillar'' and others.^(Etymonline) Figuratively, a person of devouring or destructive habits was a ''locust'' (1546).^(OED 1989) The fruit of the carob tree was called ''locust'' (1615), probably from a supposed resemblance of the pod to the insect,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) since Greek ''akrís'' “locust” was applied in the Levant to carob pods, and the “locusts” eaten by John the Baptist were long believed to be these pods.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) By 1640 the name passed to other trees, especially the North American [[black locust]] and [[honey locust]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In America the word was also applied to the cicada, as in ''seventeen-year locust''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – ''languste'', the insect (Old French form).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1325 – ''locust''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1546 – a destructive person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1615 – the carob pod.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1623 – ''locust tree'', the carob tree.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1640 – other trees, such as the black locust.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various [[grasshopper|alt=grasshoppers]] of the family Acrididae that migrate in huge swarms, devouring vegetation and crops.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[cicada]], especially the seventeen-year locust.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of several North American trees of the genus ''Robinia'', especially the [[black locust]], or related trees such as the [[honey locust]] and the [[carob]]; also, their wood.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[locust bean]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lobster]]

+ * [[grasshopper]]

+ * [[cicada]]

+ * [[carob]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}