Louse Meaning
/laʊs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA small parasitic wingless insect of the order Psocodea.
nounA contemptible person; one who is deceitful or causes harm.
Sentence Examples
The plural form of "louse" is "lice".
I'm fascinated by the evolutionary history of the louse.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child had a ____ in her hair, causing an itchy scalp.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a small and wingless insect that lives as a parasite on the bodies of humans and other animals.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English lous, lows, lowse, from Old English lūs, from Proto-West Germanic *lūs, from Proto-Germanic *lūs, from Proto-Indo-European *lewH-. Cognate with West Frisian lûs, Dutch luis, German Low German Luus, German Laus, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish lus, Faroese and Icelandic lús; also Welsh llau (“lice”), Tocharian B luwo, maybe Sanskrit यूका (yūkā).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He said: "Thanks, friend; but you're wasting your time. You better warn Crocker. If that louse makes a play for me, he'll get hit with Chicago lightning!""
— 1946, Joseph Thompson Shaw, The hard-boiled omnibus: early stories from Black Mask, page 388:
"[…] as she raised her guitar for the last loud chord, an unseen louse let loose a rubber-tipped arrow that landed right on her dark-skinned forehead."
— 1965 December, Phil Ochs, “That Was The Year That Weren't”, in Cavalier:
"After you get finished betraying all your friends, how long do you think it will be before you're all alone? You will age and die all alone. You are attractive but unloving and unlovable. You're the worst louse I have met in a long time. I hope you get what you deserve."
— 1983 December 17, “GDMFSOB (personal advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 22, page 17:
"There were a few wire-netted enclosures to keep young chickens from the hawks, but the fowls wandered at large, coming about the hut to ruffle their feathers in the dust, and louse themselves, and pick up scraps."
— 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 108:
"To ſome it louſeth the belly verie freelie, but not at the firſt. Others thinks it bindeth them. Yet it ſeemeth to louſe moe then it bindeth."
— 1618, Patri[c]k Anderson, The Colde Spring of Kinghorne Craig […], Edinburgh: Thomas Finlason, unnumbered page:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child had a ____ in her hair, causing an itchy scalp.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a small and wingless insect that lives as a parasite on the bodies of humans and other animals.