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Glite Dictionary
vespid wasp

vespid wasp

8.0
A social wasp that builds nests, like yellowjackets or hornets
  • noun
  • /ˈvɛspɪd wɑsp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : avispa vespido
  • A vespid wasp colony can contain thousands of individuals working together to build nests.

Examples

  • The scientist collected samples of a vespid wasp to study its highly organized social structure.

  • Many people mistake a vespid wasp for a bee due to its similar size and coloration.

  • A vespid wasp can be very aggressive.

  • Many vespid wasps build nests in trees.

  • A vespid wasp colony can contain thousands of individuals working together to build nests.

  • Many people mistake a vespid wasp for a bee due to its similar size and coloration.

  • The scientist collected samples of a vespid wasp to study its highly organized social structure.

Synonyms

wasp
vsvespid wasp
45 1.0

A flying insect like a bee with a narrow waist and a sting, often yellow and black

is narrower, referring only to social nest-building Vespidae species
vespid
vsvespid wasp
  • Specialized
9.9

A wasp like a yellowjacket or hornet that lives in a colony and builds paper nests

is the same meaning but uses the full two-word expression

Surface Forms

vespid wasp singular
vespid wasps plural

Morphology

vespid + wasp

This is a regular noun phrase where the modifier 'vespid' specifies the type/family of the head noun 'wasp', so the combined meaning (a wasp belonging to Vespidae) is directly compositional. The formation follows common adjective+noun species naming patterns and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who already knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Vespid wasp comes from the Latin word vespa, which means 'wasp'. Picture a hanging paper nest full of many wasps working as a team — that's why vespid wasp refers to the social, nest-building kinds like yellowjackets and hornets.