noun
Meaning 1
An ant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
pismire
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈpɪsmaɪə(ɹ)/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
noun
Meaning 2
social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ant, emmet
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hymenopterous insect, hymenopteran, hymenopteron, hymenopter
Narrower terms: pharaoh ant, pharaoh's ant, Monomorium pharaonis, little black ant, Monomorium minimum, army ant, driver ant, legionary ant, carpenter ant, fire ant, wood ant, Formica rufa, slave ant, slave-making ant, slave-maker, bulldog ant
History
Etymology
From Middle English pissemyre, equivalent to piss + mire (“ant”). So called due to the smell of anthills. Compare English pissant, Old Frisian pisimme, Dutch pismiere, Swedish pissmyra.