noun
water bugs
• Syn: ↑family Belostomatidae
• Hypernyms: ↑arthropod family
• Member Holonyms: ↑Heteroptera, ↑suborder Heteroptera
• Member Meronyms: ↑giant water bug
* * *
\\ˌbeləstōˈmad.əˌdē\ noun pluralUsage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Belostomat-, Belostoma, type genus (from Greek belos dart + New Latin -stomat-, -stoma) + -idae — more at belone
: a family of large predaceous water bugs with piercing and sucking mouthparts that may be very destructive to young fishes
Useful english dictionary. 2012.