Word of the day: Stridulate

Stridulate

[STRIH-jə-lait]

Part of speech: verb

Origin: French, mid-19th century

(Of an insect, especially a male cricket or grasshopper) Make a shrill sound by rubbing the legs, wings, or other parts of the body together.

Examples of stridulate in a sentence

"The southern lubber grasshopper stridulates with a distinct sound."

"Ted was frustrated that he couldn’t find the cricket in his basement even when it stridulated."

About Stridulate

This word stems from the French “striduler.” It originates from the Latin “stridulus,” which means “creaking,” from the verb “stridere.”

Did you Know?

Which bug can stridulate the loudest? That would be an African cicada, Brevisana brevis, with its loudest song reaching 107 decibels when measured at a distance of 20 inches away. That’s comparable to the volume of a chainsaw.