| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| earwig |
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| SYLLABICATION: | ear·wig |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  îr w g |
| NOUN: | Any of various elongate insects of the order Dermaptera, having a pair of pincerlike appendages protruding from the rear of the abdomen. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: ear·wigged, ear·wig·ging, ear·wigs
To attempt to influence by persistent confidential argument or talk. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English erwig, from Old English  arwicga : are, ear; see ear1 + wicga, insect; see wegh- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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