| locust | 1. <zoology> Any one of numerous species of long-winged, migratory, orthopterous insects, of the family Acrididae, allied to the grasshoppers; especially, (Edipoda, or Pachytylus, migratoria, and Acridium perigrinum, of Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the United States the related species with similar habits are usually called grasshoppers. See Grasshopper. These insects are at times so numerous in Africa and the south of Asia as to devour every green thing; and when they migrate, they fly in an immense cloud. In the United States the harvest flies are improperly called locusts. See Cicada. Locust beetle, an African bird; the beefeater. 2. [Etymol. Uncertain. <botany> The locust tree. See Locust Tree (definition, note, and phrases). <botany> Locust bean, a commercial name for the sweet pod of the carob tree. Origin: L. Locusta locust, grasshopper. Cf. Lobster. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| locust gum | <botany> The Carob, a leguminous tree of the Mediterranean region; also, its edible beans or pods, called St. John's bread. The Honey mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), a small tree found from California to Buenos Ayres; also, its sweet, pulpy pods. A valuable gum, resembling gum arabic, is collected from the tree in Texas and Mexico. Origin: Sp. Algarroba, fr. Ar. Al-kharrbah. Cf. Carob. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| locust tree | <botany> A large North American tree of the genus Robinia (R. Pseudacacia), producing large slender racemes of white, fragrant, papilionaceous flowers, and often cultivated as an ornamental tree. In England it is called acacia. The name is also applied to other trees of different genera, especially to those of the genus Hymenaea, of which H. Courbaril is a lofty, spreading tree of South America; also to the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), a tree growing in the Mediterranean region. <botany> Honey locust tree, a small swamp tree (Gleditschia monosperma), of the Southern United States. Origin: Etymol. Uncertain. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| locusta | <botany> The spikelet or flower cluster of grasses. Origin: NL., cf. Locuste. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| locustella | <zoology> The European cricket warbler. Origin: NL, fr. L. Locusta a locust. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| locustic | <chemistry> Pertaining to, or derived from, the locust; formerly used to designate a supposed acid. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| water locust | <botany> A thorny leguminous tree (Gleditschia monosperma) which grows in the swamps of the Mississippi valley. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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