cockchafer

Meaning

1. Any of the large European beetles from the genus Melolontha that are destructive to vegetation.
2. Any of various other similar beetles, such as of the genera Acrossidius, Cyphochilus, Rhopaea, etc.

Synonyms

maybug

May bug

may bug

May beetle

may beetle

Melolontha melolontha

European chockchafer

melolontha

May-beetle

bumblebee

beettle

may-bug

june bug

May-bug

cockchafer beetle

common chockchafer

Translations

hanneton

Maikäfer

meikever

maggiolino

μηλολόνθη

abejorro

Melolontha

melolontha

abellot

χρυσόμυγα

Feld-Maikäfer

borinot

chrysómyga

نحلة

🐝

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkɒkˌt͡ʃeɪfɚ/

Etymology

Cognate with French: hanneton

In summary

From cock (“male bird”) + chafer (“beetle”). The Oxford English Dictionary speculates that the name may relate to a resemblance of antennae to coxcomb, or to the beetle’s size. Compare French hanneton (“cockchafer”), ultimately from Frankish *hanō (“rooster”). Attested from the late seventeenth century.