Ichneumon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪkˈnjuːmÉ™n/

Origin

From Latin ichneumon, from Ancient Greek ἰχνεύμων (ikhneúmōn, "tracker")’, from ἴχνος (íkhnos, "track, footstep").

Full definition of ichneumon

Noun

1. The , , found in Africa and southern Europe.
• 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:when the Ichneumon is to grapple with the Crocodile, he walloweth his body in the mire, then lets the same drie and harden upon him ....
2. The ichneumon wasp.
• 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, p. 43:Ada's unique Lorelei Underwing had died, paralyzed by some ichneumon that had not been deceived by those clever prominences and fungoid smudges.

Related terms

• ichnology
• ichnogram
• ichneumia