locust
/ˈləʊkəst
/noun
1A large, mainly tropical grasshopper with strong powers of flight. It is usually solitary, but from time to time there is a population explosion and it migrates in vast swarms which cause extensive damage to vegetation.
- Several species in the family Acrididae, including the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria).
- Swarms of locusts damaged crops and pastures across the state during the autumn.
- Insects such as the red locust, crickets, grasshoppers, and flying ants are collected in season and either fried with salt to make popular snacks or dried for later use.
1.1 (also seventeen-year locust) US The periodical cicada.We get confused because both cicadas and locust emerge periodically....
- These are known as periodical cicadas but are also commonly called 17-year cicadas, 13-year cicadas, or locusts.
2 (also locust bean) The large edible pod of some plants of the pea family, in particular the carob bean, which is said to resemble a locust.Others, like gum guar (obtained from the cluster bean), or locust bean gum (from the locust bean), come from seedpods....
- I learn that one ice cream ingredient, locust bean gum, was used in ancient Egypt to seal the wrappings on mummies.
- In cream cheese, xanthan gum interacts synergistically with guar and locust bean gum, notes Sebree.
3 (also locust tree) A carob tree, false acacia, or similar pod-bearing tree of the pea family.We look up at the sky through a fringe of leaves belonging to a locust tree or a mimosa, the rows of lacy leaves forming a mantilla overhead....
- Kaya and I were taking a walk to the pond this morning when along the roadside I noticed a locust tree that still had some long felty pods hanging from it.
- Except for the existing locust tree, the two sides of the yard are symmetrical.
Origin
Middle English: via Old French locuste from Latin locusta 'locust, crustacean'.
lobster from Old English:
Lobsters and locusts (Middle English) are linguistically the same. Latin locusta, from which both derive, had both meanings. A look at close-up pictures of the two clearly shows the similarity. Lobster was used as a contemptuous name for British soldiers from the mid 17th century. Originally applied to a regiment of Roundhead cuirassiers who wore complete suits of armour; later the term was associated with the red military coats once worn by British soldiers. In US slang, lobster was used to describe ‘a slow-witted or gullible person’ from the late 19th century.