ant

Etymology

From Middle English ampte, amte, emete, amete, from Old English ǣmete (“ant”), from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitijā (literally “biting-thing, cutter”), from Proto-Germanic *ē- (“off, away”) + *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂y- (“to cut”). Cognate with Scots emmot (“ant”), dialectal Dutch emt, empt (“ant”), German Ameise and Emse (“ant”). See also emmet.

noun

1. Any of various insects in the family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera, typically living in large colonies composed almost entirely of flightless females.
   The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters […]. But the priciest items in the market aren't the armadillo steaks or even the bluefin tuna. That would be the frozen chicatanas – giant winged ants – at around $500 a kilo. 2013-07-26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects […]”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32
2. (Internet) A Web spider.

verb

1. (ornithology) To rub insects, especially ants, on one's body, perhaps to control parasites or clean feathers.
   Wild birds tend to ant and sunbathe most frequently during periods of high humidity, particularly right after heavy or prolonged rainfall in summer. 1974, Eloise Potter, Doris Hauser, “Relationship of anting and sunbathing to molting in wild birds”, in The Auk, volume 91, archived from the original on 2011-06-06, page 538