Dictionary

nitter en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnɪtə(ɹ)/ (UK)

Etymology

From nit + -er.

Meanings

1. (archaic) A louse that deposits nits on horses.
   • [The bots] were hatched, into (what is called in the country) a horse-bee or nitter. 1809, Medical Repository of Original Essays and Intelligence Relative to Physic, Surgery, Chemistry, and Natural History, volume 12, page 124:
   • If the "throat nitter" (Œ veterinus) is the true bot however, […] it must be evident that the remedy proposed […] is at least doubtful […] 1835, The Genesee Farmer, page 90:
   • The last three species are the nitters so well known in this country; particularly the leg and throat nitters. It is the received opinion that the nits on the legs of horses, are taken into the mouth of the horse, conveyed into the intestines, and at length become the bot larva. 1826, Amos Eaton, Zoological Text-book Comprising Cuvier's Four Grand Divisions of Animals, page 226:

Forms

Synonyms

horse-bee