Locust
/ˈloʊ.kəst/noun
A large, swarming grasshopper, especially one that can devastate crops.
Did you know?The English word ultimately came through Latin from a Greek word for a kind of insect, and in the Bible locusts became one of the most powerful symbols of divine judgment and overwhelming destruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leǵ-
“to gather, collect”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἀκρίς (akris)
“a locust, especially a crop-devouring insect”
Latin
Latin
locusta
“a locust; also a lobster or sea-creature in later usage”
Old French
Old French
locuste
“locust”
Middle English
English
locuste
“a locust”
Modern English
English
locust
“a swarming grasshopper, especially one that devastates vegetation”
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