formicary

American  

[fawr-mi-ker-ee] / ˈfɔr mɪˌkɛr i /

noun

plural

formicaries

1. an ant nest.

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formicary British  

/ ˌfɔːmɪˈkɛərɪəm, ˈfɔːmɪkərɪ /

noun

1. less common names for ant hill

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Etymology

Origin of formicary

1810–20; < Medieval Latin formīcārium ant hill, noun use of neuter of *formīcārius of, pertaining to ants. See formic, -arium

Example Sentences

The Ewing home at Southfork Ranch, where eight members of one of Texas' wealthiest families contrive to live under one roof, resembles a formicary of Neiman-Marcus showrooms.

From Time Magazine Archive

They very soon commenced work, tunnelling the earth and erecting556 a formicary, as nearly as they could after the pattern of their home on the barrens.

From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various

The whole life of the formicary centers upon the young, which proves they have reached a degree of civilization unknown even in some forms of higher life.

From Scientific American Supplement No. 822, October 3, 1891 by Various

She was moving back and forth with cautious mien, and I easily perceived was putting finishing touches to the closure of a little hole that marked the gate of her formicary hut.

From Old Farm Fairies: A Summer Campaign In Brownieland Against King Cobweaver's Pixies by McCook, Henry Christopher

Swarming on the extremity of the branches among which the formicary is constructed, the defenders, projecting their terminal segments as far into space as possible, eject formic acid in the direction of the enemy.

From Tropic Days by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)