weevil
nounUK /ˈwiːv(ə)l/ · US /ˈwiːvɪl/
Etymology
From Middle English wevel, from Old English wifel (“beetle”), from Proto-West Germanic *wibil, from Proto-Germanic *wibilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰel-, from *(h₁)webʰ- (“to wave, to weave”), said to be from the woven appearance of a weevil’s larval case, + *-el-, *-l̥- (diminutive or attributive suffix); see also wave and weave. Compare Old Saxon *wivil (“beetle”); Middle Low German wevel; Old High German wibil, wipil (modern German Wiebel (“beetle; chafer”)); Lithuanian vãbalas (“beetle; weevil”); Old Norse vifill, as in tordyfill (“dung beetle, scarab”) (whence Dutch tortwevel; Icelandic tordýfill, Norwegian tordivel, Old English tordwifel, Swedish tordyvel); dialectal Russian ве́блица (véblica, “intestinal worm”).
Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles, ranging in size from tiny to large, in the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most characteristic species having the head projecting in a distinctive snout with the mouthparts at the tip.
Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles of various sizes, in the family Curculionidae within the superfamily Curculionoidea.
Any of many similar, but more distantly related, beetles such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum).
Derogatory, Figuratively A loathsome person.
- But you accuse other men of villainy with too easy a tongue, you weevil. I have never wanted you in this matter, and I have said so.1950, Jack Lindsay, Fires in Smithfield. A Novel of Mary Tudor’s Reign, London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC, page 201:
- Have you tried doing it yourself? It's not easy. I was hoping to illustrate this article with some self-created buzzwords for leftwingers to use. The first one I came up with was "molehill mountaineer", a pejorative term to describe the sort of perpetually furious rightwing weevil who spends their life calculatedly conflating issues such as the "Ground Zero mosque" into gigantic media crapgasms.2010 August 30, Charlie Brooker, “Buzzwords for blowhards”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 30 May 2023:
- Synonyms
- snout beetle, true weevil, nunu
- Derived terms
87 terms
acorn weevil, alfalfa weevil, apple blossom weevil, apple flea weevil, apple weevil, ash weevil, banana root weevil, banana weevil, bean weevil, biscuit weevil, black vine weevil, black weevil, boll weevil, broad-bean weevil, broad-nosed weevil, cabbage seedpod weevil, cabbage seed weevil, carrot weevil, chestnut weevil, clover leaf weevil, clover-seed weevil, clover weevil, coffee-bean weevil, corn weevil, cotton-boll weevil, cowpea weevil, dicky rice weevil, drugstore weevil, Egyptian alfalfa weevil, fern weevil(Please check if this is already defined at target. Replace with a regular link if already defined. Add novern=1 if not defined.), flax weevil, flea weevil, flour weevil, flower weevil, Fuller's rose weevil, fungus weevil, giraffe weevil, gorse seed weevil, gorse weevil, grain weevil, granary weevil, grapevine weevil, greater rice weevil, lesser clover leaf weevil, maize weevil, mango weevil, New York weevil, New Zealand giraffe weevil, ngaio weevil, nut weevil, pales weevil, palmetto weevil, palm weevil, peach weevil, pea weevil, pecan weevil, pepper weevil, pine gall weevil, pine reproduction weevil, pine root-collar weevil, pine weevil, plum weevil, potato weevil, rice water weevil, rice weevil, root weevil, rose weevil, seed weevil, Sitka spruce weevil, square weevil, strawberry bud weevil, strawberry root weevil, strawberry weevil, sunflower seed weevil, sweetclover weevil, sweet potato weevil, thurberia weevil, true weevil, vegetable weevil, vine weevil, walnut weevil, water weevil, weevily, West Indian cane weevil, wheat weevil, white-fringed weevil, white-pine weevil