Standard Lemma guide

ectoparasite

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɛktə(ʊ)ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/
  • General-American: /ˌɛktəˈpɛɹəˌsaɪt/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A parasite that lives on the surface of a host organism; such as the Demodex mite, which lives in human hair and eyelashes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: endoparasite

2

noun

Meaning 2

any external parasitic organism (as fleas)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ectozoan, ectozoon, epizoan, epizoon

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: parasite

Narrower terms: flea

History

Etymology

From ecto- (from Ancient Greek ἐκτός (ektós, “outside”)) + parasite.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 外寄生虫 — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Czech: ektoparazit — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Dutch: ectoparasiet — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Finnish: ulkoloinen — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Finnish: pintaloinen — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Finnish: ektoparasiitti — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • German: Ektoparasit — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Irish: eicteaparaisít — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Italian: dermatozoo — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Latvian: ektoparazīts — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Lithuanian: ektoparazitas — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Portuguese: ectoparasita — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Spanish: ectoparásito — parasite living on the surface of host organism
  • Tamil: புற ஒட்டுண்ணி (puṟa oṭṭuṇṇi) — parasite living on the surface of host organism