buprestid

[ byoo-pres-tid ]

noun

1. any beetle of the family Buprestidae, comprising wood-boring beetles of a metallic luster.

buprestid

/ bjuːˈprɛstɪd /

noun

1. any beetle of the mainly tropical family Buprestidae , the adults of which are brilliantly coloured and the larvae of which bore into and cause damage to trees, roots, etc

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the family Buprestidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of buprestid¹

1350–1400; Middle English < New Latin Buprestidae name of the family, equivalent to Latin būprēst ( is ) venomous beetle (< Greek boúprēstis, literally ox-sweller) + -idae -id ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of buprestid¹

C19: from Latin buprestis poisonous beetle, causing the cattle who eat it to swell up, from Greek, from bous ox + prēthein to swell up

Example Sentences

Laporte de Castelnau and Gory have described and made drawings of about 1,300 species of Buprestid.

From Project Gutenberg

The tribe of weevils is even much more numerous than that of the Elaterid and the Buprestid.

From Project Gutenberg