flea

Meaning

Noun

1. A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order Siphonaptera, renowned for its bloodsucking habits and jumping abilities.
2. (derogatory) A thing of no significance.

Verb

To remove fleas from (an animal).

Verb

Obsolete spelling of flay.

Synonyms

louse

fleas

lice

tick

chigger

bug

🐛

dog louse

pulicidae

jigger

chigoe flea

bedbug

pulicid

chip

insect

leech

nit

sand flea

scratch

dog flea

bird louse

Translations

puce

pulga

pulce

Floh

vlo

pulga

ψύλλος

pire

puça

pulex

برغوث

kêç

piuse

pūlex

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fliː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: fle

Inherited from Old English: flēah

Cognate with Western Frisian: flie

Cognate with Low German: Flo

Cognate with Dutch: vlo

Cognate with German: Floh

Cognate with Icelandic: fló

Cognate with Latin: pulex

Cognate with Sanskrit: प्लुषि

Inherited from Middle English: fleen

Inherited from Old English: flēan

In summary

From Middle English fle, from Old English flēah, flēa, from Proto-West Germanic *flauh, from Proto-Germanic *flauhaz (compare West Frisian flie, Low German Flo, Flö, Dutch vlo, German Floh, Icelandic fló), from pre-Germanic *plóukos, *plówkos, from or akin to Proto-Indo-European *plúsis (compare Latin pulex, Sanskrit प्लुषि (plúṣi)).
The archaic plural fleen is from Middle English fleen, flen, from Old English flēan (“fleas”).