insecto

Meaning

insect

Frequency

Hyphenated as

in‧sec‧to

Gender

♂️ Masculine

Pronounced as (IPA)

/inˈseɡto/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnsecta (“insects”) (attested in Pliny only in the plural), a calque of ἔντομα (éntoma, “insects”, literally “dissected”), from their segmented bodies, from εν- (en-) + τόμος (tómos, “slice”); calqued based on īnsectus (“notched, dissected”), perfect passive participle of īnsecō.