grasshopper
UK /ˈɡɹɑːsˌhɒpə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈɡɹæsˌhɑpəɹ/ noun, verb
Forms grasshoppers grasshoppering grasshoppered
- noun A mostly herbivorous insect of the order Orthoptera, noted for its ability to jump long distances and for the habit of some species communicating by stridulation; they are related to but distinct from crickets.
- noun In the strict sense, refers to insects in the suborder Caelifera, particularly those in the family Acrididae.
- noun In a looser sense, also includes the katydids (also known as longhorned grasshoppers or bush crickets), which are members of the family Tettigoniidae, of the suborder Ensifera.
- noun A cocktail made with crème de menthe and optionally with crème de cacao.
- noun (figuratively) A young student in the initial stages of training who has been chosen on account of their obvious talent.
- noun (slang, drugs) A frequent user of marijuana.
- noun (music) In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key.
- noun (chess) A fairy chess piece which moves orthogonally or diagonally, but must hop over a piece to move or capture, landing one square beyond the hopped piece.
- verb (transitive) Of a crop, to be ruined or destroyed by grasshoppers.
- verb (transitive) To move a riverboat over an obstruction, such as a sandbar.
- verb (transitive, rare) Of an animal, to hunt and eat grasshoppers.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English grashoppere, alteration of earlier grashoppe, from Old English græshoppa (“grasshopper”). Equivalent to grass + hopper. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gäärshupper, Dutch grashupper, grashipper, German Low German Grashüpper, Gresshüpper, German Grashüpfer, Danish græshoppe, Swedish gräshoppa, Norwegian gresshoppe.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any jumping, orthopterous insect, of the families Acrididæ and Locustidæ. The species and genera are very numerous. The former family includes the Western grasshopper or locust (Caloptenus spretus), noted for the great extent of its ravages in the region beyond the Mississippi. In the Eastern United States the red-legged (Caloptenus femurrubrum and C. atlanis) are closely related species, but their ravages are less important. They are closely related to the migratory locusts of the Old World. See Locust.
- noun In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key; --called also the hopper. Grove. Grasshopper engine, a steam engine having a working beam with its fulcrum at one end, the steam cylinder at the other end, and the connecting rod at an intermediate point.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “grasshopper”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details