termite

noun

1. A white-bodied, wood-consuming insect of the infraorder Isoptera, in the order Blattodea.

   “Linnæus describes this insect under the Latin name of Termes; and citizen Cuvier speaks of it under that of Termites. The vulgar call it by that of white ant, or fourmi vaguevague. The termites divide themselves into societies: each society builds itself a next, and each nest belongs to an innumerable quantity of these insects, who acknowledge for their chiefs a king and a queen.”

2. A contemptible person.

   “This two faced termite has the nerve to talk.”

verb

1. (intransitive)Of a chimpanzee: to catch termites by inserting a stick or vine into their nest and waiting for them to climb up it.