sow bug


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sow·bug

or sow bug  (sou′bŭg′)
n.
1. See woodlouse.
2. Any of various woodlice, especially of the genera Oniscus and Porcellio, that lack the ability of pillbugs to roll into a ball.

[From its piglike shape.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sow bug

(saʊ)
n
(Animals) US and Canadian any of various woodlice, esp any of the genera Oniscus and Porcellio
[C18: from its resemblance to a pig in shape]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sow′ bug`

(saʊ)
n.
any of several small terrestrial isopods, esp. of the genus Oniscus; wood louse.
[1740–50]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.sow bug - terrestrial isopod having an oval segmented body (a shape like a sow)sow bug - terrestrial isopod having an oval segmented body (a shape like a sow)
slater, woodlouse - any of various small terrestrial isopods having a flat elliptical segmented body; found in damp habitats
genus Oniscus, Oniscus - type genus of the Oniscidae; woodlice that cannot roll into a ball
genus Porcellio, Porcellio - Old World genus of isopod crustaceans
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
You pioneered the PA School of Horticulture for Women where girls kept bees, canned fruit, learned farm carpentry and soil science, studying the energetic sow bug with seven pairs of legs and a carapace of overlapping plates.
Possible replies: pill bug, doodlebug, potato bug, roly poly, sow bug, twiddle bug, wood louse, millipede and centipede.
Ancient Ones: The World of the Old-Growth Douglas Fir delves deep into a lichen-covered terrain whose air is thick with the fragrance of decomposing needles, tracing the life of the stately conifer and the marbled murrelet, Douglas squirrel, millipede, and sow bug that call the forest home.
One lone lady sow bug declares her frustration: She does not know how to dance.
"A sow bug," says Dad, scooping them both on a card and tossing them outside.
Soil-dwellers include slugs, sow bugs, earwigs, fungus gnats and ants.