tenebrionid

noun

te·ne·bri·o·nid tə-ˈne-brē-ə-nəd

ˌte-nə-ˈbrī-ə-nəd

: darkling beetle

tenebrionid adjective

Word History

Etymology

from the base of New Latin Tenebrionidae, family name, from Tenebrion-, Tenebrio, a genus of the family (going back to Latin tenebriōn-, tenebriō "someone who does things in the dark [by implication in an underhanded way]," from tenebrae "darkness" + -iōn-, -iō, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) + -idae -idae — more at tenebrae

Note: The genus name Tenebrio was introduced by linnaeus (Systema naturae, Stockholm, 1758, tomus I, p. 417); he used the name for the beetle earlier in Fauna suecica (1746).

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of tenebrionid was in 1902

See more words from the same year