wasp

Etymology 1

From Middle English wasp, waspe, waps, from Old English wæsp, wæps (“wasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *wapsu, from Proto-Germanic *wapsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wobʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“weave”) (referring to the insect's woven nests). Compare Dutch wesp, German Wespe, Danish hveps. The metathesis of s and p reflects a process of some generality in Old English, cf. ascian ~ acsian (“to ask”); here, Latin vespa (“wasp”) (also a cognate- cf. Old French wespe) may have helped tilt the scales in favour of -sp.

noun

1. Any of many types of stinging flying insect resembling a hornet.
2. (entomology) Any of the members of suborder Apocrita, excepting the ants (family Formicidae) and bees (clade Anthophila).
   1. Any of the members of the family Vespidae.
3. A person who behaves in an angry or insolent way, hence waspish.

verb

1. To move like a wasp; to buzz

Etymology 2

noun

1. Alternative letter-case form of WASP (“white Anglo-Saxon Protestant”)