verminとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From 中期英語 vermyn, vermyne, from Old French vermine, from Vulgar Latin *verminum (“vermin”), collective noun formed from Latin vermis (“worm”). Compare vermiculate and vermivorous. See also worm.

発音

• (General American) IPA: /ˈvɝmɪn/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈvɜːmɪn/
• 韻: -ɜː(ɹ)mɪn

名詞

vermin sg or pl (plural vermins)

1. Any of various common types of small insects or other animals which cause harm and annoyance. [from c. 1300]

   The area was crawling with all sorts of vermin: fleas, lice, mice, and rats to name a few. Thus, we felt as if vermin were crawling over us.

   • 1903, Harry de Windt, “The Great Lena Post Road”, in From Paris to New York by Land, New York, N.Y.: Frederick Warne & Co. […], published 1904, →OCLC, part I (Europe and Asia), page 27:

     Vermin was everywhere; night and day it crawled gaily over the walls and ceiling, about our bodies, and into our very food, and, although the subject did not interest us, a naturalist would have delighted in the ever-changing varieties of insect life.

2. An animal that preys on game, such as a fox or a weasel.
3. An obnoxious or mean and offensive person. [from 1560s]

   Bring these vermin to the Palace of Justice.

使用する際の注意点

• The singular form "a vermin" is now rarely encountered, and the word is generally used as a plural.

派生語

• verminicide
• verminer

参考

• varmint

アナグラム

• Mervin