ladybird
UK /ˈleɪ.di.bəːd/ · US /ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/ noun
Forms ladybirds lady-bird
- noun (chiefly Commonwealth) Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra.
Synonyms
ladybug lady beetle ladycow lady fly bishy barnabee ladybeetle ladybird beetle
Etymology
From lady + bird. Lady here refers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Compare German Marienkäfer (literally “Mary beetle or bug”), Danish mariehøne, Latvian mārīte, Macedonian бубамара (bubamara) and Spanish mariquita. Also compare damselfly.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any one of numerous species of small beetles of the genus Coccinella and allied genera (family Coccinellidæ); --called also ladybug, ladyclock, lady cow, lady fly, and lady beetle. Coccinella seplempunctata in one of the common European species. See Coccinella.
Etymology [Equiv. to, bird of Our Lady.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ladybird”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details