Dictionary

weevil en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈwiːvɪl/ (General-American)
• /ˈwiːv(ə)l/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From Middle English wevel, from Old English wifel (“beetle”), from Proto-West Germanic *wibil, from Proto-Germanic *wibilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰel-, from *(h₁)webʰ- (“to wave, to weave”), said to be from the woven appearance of a weevil’s larval case, + *-el-, *-l̥- (diminutive or attributive suffix); see also wave and weave. Compare Old Saxon *wivil (“beetle”); Middle Low German wevel; Old High German wibil, wipil (modern German Wiebel (“beetle; chafer”)); Lithuanian vãbalas (“beetle; weevil”); Old Norse vifill, as in tordyfill (“dung beetle, scarab”) (whence Dutch tortwevel; Icelandic tordýfill, Norwegian tordivel, Old English tordwifel, Swedish tordyvel); dialectal Russian ве́блица (véblica, “intestinal worm”).

Meanings

1. Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles, ranging in size from tiny to large, in the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most characteristic species having the head projecting in a distinctive snout with the mouthparts at the tip.
2. Any of many tens of thousands of species of herbivorous beetles of various sizes, in the family Curculionidae within the superfamily Curculionoidea.
3. Any of many similar, but more distantly related, beetles such as the biscuit weevil (Stegobium paniceum).
4. (derogatory, figuratively) A loathsome person.
   • But you accuse other men of villainy with too easy a tongue, you weevil. I have never wanted you in this matter, and I have said so. 1950, Jack Lindsay, Fires in Smithfield. A Novel of Mary Tudor’s Reign, London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC, page 201:
   • Have you tried doing it yourself? It's not easy. I was hoping to illustrate this article with some self-created buzzwords for leftwingers to use. The first one I came up with was "molehill mountaineer", a pejorative term to describe the sort of perpetually furious rightwing weevil who spends their life calculatedly conflating issues such as the "Ground Zero mosque" into gigantic media crapgasms. 2010 August 30, Charlie Brooker, “Buzzwords for blowhards”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 30 May 2023:

Forms

Deriveds

pine gall weevil · pecan weevil · ash weevil · white-pine weevil · pales weevil · corn weevil · black weevil · maize weevil · fungus weevil · clover-seed weevil · banana weevil · nut weevil · pine root-collar weevil · sweet potato weevil · vegetable weevil · weevily · cabbage seedpod weevil · fern weevil · seed weevil · flea weevil · gorse seed weevil · coffee-bean weevil · square weevil · palmetto weevil · wheat weevil · flour weevil · pine reproduction weevil · strawberry root weevil · pea weevil · granary weevil · Egyptian alfalfa weevil · broad-bean weevil · gorse weevil · sweetclover weevil · white-fringed weevil · black vine weevil · lesser clover leaf weevil · cabbage seed weevil · broad-nosed weevil · Sitka spruce weevil · banana root weevil · water weevil · walnut weevil · grapevine weevil · Fuller's rose weevil · potato weevil · greater rice weevil · clover leaf weevil · giraffe weevil · grain weevil · boll weevil · pepper weevil · pine weevil · acorn weevil · root weevil · mango weevil · peach weevil · strawberry weevil · cowpea weevil · sunflower seed weevil · rice water weevil · rice weevil · biscuit weevil · flower weevil · strawberry bud weevil · New York weevil · apple weevil · ngaio weevil · thurberia weevil · dicky rice weevil · rose weevil · apple blossom weevil · palm weevil · New Zealand giraffe weevil · vine weevil · West Indian cane weevil · apple flea weevil · true weevil · carrot weevil · plum weevil · chestnut weevil · bean weevil · drugstore weevil · cotton-boll weevil · clover weevil · alfalfa weevil · flax weevil

Synonyms

true weevil (beetle of the family Curculionidae) · snout beetle (beetle of the family Curculionidae) · nunu (beetle of the family Curculionidae)

Translations (81)

be даўгано́сік (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · kea gurgudju (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pl słonik (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · ja ゾウムシ (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · es gorgojo (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · uk довгоно́сик (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · pam bukbuk (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · eo kalandro (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · et kärsakas (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pt gorgulho (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fi kärsäkäsmäinen (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · is væfla (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · cmn 象鼻蟲 /象鼻虫 (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · pl ryjkowiec (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · it balanino (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · de Rüsselkäfer (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · hu ormányosbogár (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · sv vivel (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · fr cosson (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ms bubuk (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · hu zsizsik (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · es gorgojo (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fr charançon (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ru долгоно́сик (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ca corc (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · uk сло́ник (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · be сло́нік (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · uk сло́ник (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · sh žižak (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · cs pilous (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fo trantklukka (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · be шашо́лка (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · my ဆင်ပိုး (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · gl gurgullo (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · be даўгано́сік (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · grc κίς (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · it curculione (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · nv tsé neiʼáhí (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · el βρούχος (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · eo grenskarabo (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ja 象虫 (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fi nilviäinen (loathsome person) · fr balanin (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fi kuoriainen (similar beetle) · cs nosatec (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · gl congorxo (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · bg гъгрица (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · nl snuitkever (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · ca fraró (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · la curculiō (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · be шашо́лка (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · sv vivel (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · pl ryjkowiec (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · be сло́нік (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · ca morrut (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ast gorgoyu (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · nl snuitkever (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ast gorgoyu (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · is ranabjalla (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · it calandra (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · kaw bubuk (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ca morrut (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · cy gwiddonyn (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · gl gurgullo (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · ota سوس (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · de Rüsselkäfer (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · es picudo (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pl ryjkowiec (similar beetle) · mi pepeke nguturoa (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · uk довгоно́сик (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pdt Kornworm (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · fi kärsäkäs (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pt gorgulho (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · pl karaluch (loathsome person) · kea gurgudju (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · nv tsé neiʼáhí (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · ota سوس (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · cy gwiddonyn (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · bg хоботник (beetle in the family Curculionidae) · ko 바구미 (beetle in the superfamily Curculionoidea) · grc κίς (beetle in the family Curculionidae)