Lice
/laɪs/noun
The plural of louse, a tiny parasitic insect that lives on the skin or in the hair of mammals and birds.
Did you know?Lice is one of the oldest inherited English words, going back to Proto-Indo-European, and its singular louse shows how English preserved a very old word for a creature humans have been battling for millennia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lous-
“Louse; parasitic insect”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*lūs-
“Louse”
Old English
OE
lūs
“Louse”
Middle English
ME
lyse
“Lice; plural of louse”
Modern English
English
lice
“Plural of louse”