book louse
- noun
- /bʊk laʊs/
- Specialized
:
piojo de libro
- The preservation team discovered a book louse infestation damaging rare manuscripts.
Examples
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Despite its name, the book louse does not bite humans and is mostly harmless except to paper.
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A book louse can often be found in old libraries or storage rooms filled with paper.
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I found a book louse in my old textbook.
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The book lice were eating through the pages.
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The preservation team discovered a book louse infestation damaging rare manuscripts.
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A book louse can often be found in old libraries or storage rooms filled with paper.
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Despite its name, the book louse does not bite humans and is mostly harmless except to paper.
Synonyms
A very small insect without wings that eats and damages old books and papers
A small insect that lives in damp indoor places and eats mold and book glue
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small insect associated with books' is directly derivable from combining 'book' (the object) with 'louse' (a small insect). This modifier+noun compound follows a transparent compositional pattern (an X-louse = a louse found on/near X), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Book louse probably comes from the simple image of a tiny pest living in books: people used the word louse for small pests, and these little insects hide in the pages and eat the mold and glue. So book louse means a very small insect that lives in and can damage books.
