noun
small slender-winged moths whose larvae are agricultural pests
• Syn: ↑gelechiid moth
• Hypernyms: ↑moth
• Hyponyms: ↑Gelechia gossypiella, ↑grain moth, ↑potato moth, ↑potato tuber moth, ↑splitworm, ↑Phthorimaea operculella
• Member Holonyms: ↑Gelechiidae, ↑family Gelechiidae
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I. \\jəˈlekēə̇d\ adjectiveEtymology: New Latin Gelechiidae
: of or relating to the Gelechiidae
II. noun
(-s)
: any moth of the family Gelechiidae
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/jeuh lek"ee id/, n.
1. any of numerous small moths of the family Gelechiidae, including many crop pests, as the Angoumois grain moth and potato tuberworm.
adj.
2. belonging or pertaining to the gelechiids.
[ < NL Gelechiidae name of the family, equiv. to Gelechi(a) name of the genus ( < Gk gelechés sleeping on earth; see -IA) + -idae -ID2]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.