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Glite Dictionary
slave-maker

slave-maker

9.9
An ant that enters other ant nests and takes young ants to raise as workers
  • noun
  • /ˈsleɪvˌmeɪkər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hormiga esclavizadora
  • The slave-maker ant raids neighboring colonies and abducts larvae to serve its needs.

Examples

  • Some slave-maker species have lost the ability to care for themselves and rely entirely on enslaved workers.

  • Researchers observed a slave-maker ant entering a host nest to capture their young during a raid.

  • Researchers observed a slave-maker entering a host nest during an organized attack.

  • The slave-maker ants invade other colonies.

  • A colony of slave-makers is highly organized.

  • The slave-maker ant uses the larvae from other colonies to build up its workforce.

  • In their quest for dominance, slave-makers abduct young ants from rival colonies.

Synonyms

slave-making ant
vsslave-maker
  • Specialized
9.9

An ant that attacks other ant nests and takes their young to raise as workers in its own nest

is focused on a single animal that performs raids rather than the species

Surface Forms

slave-maker singular
slave-makers plural

Morphology

slave-maker = slave + maker (transparent) = slave + maker

The compound is a straightforward combination of 'slave' and 'maker', meaning 'one that makes or obtains slaves', which is directly inferable from the components.

Etymology

Slave-maker is made of slave and maker. The word slave came from an old word for people from Eastern Europe who were often taken as 'forced workers', and maker means 'one who makes', so a slave-maker is literally 'one who makes slaves', which fits the ant that captures young ants and raises them to work for its colony.