body louse
noun
: a louse feeding primarily on the body
especially
: a sucking louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) feeding on the body and living in the clothing of humans
called also cootie
Examples of body louse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bartonella, a bacterium commonly spread by fleas and body lice but also carried by bedbugs, is especially common among people experiencing homelessness, for instance, but very little research on bedbugs has been done in transient homeless populations.
—
Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
The body louse life cycle starts as an egg (nit), develops to a nymph, and finally becomes an adult louse.
—Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 2 Dec. 2024
The body louse, as vector of epidemic typhus, helped ruin Napoleon’s march on Moscow.
—Barrett Klein, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Oct. 2024
Modern head lice and body lice diverged some 83,000 to 170,000 years ago, based on differences in their DNA.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2024
Without that bacterium, the body louse is doomed [Nature].
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2010
Unlike the body louse, the head louse isn’t known to spread disease.
—oregonlive, 28 Nov. 2021
Life in the Australian bush involved intimate encounters with many species, and of course head and body lice were among them. . .
—Kate Darnton, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2018
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Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
The body louse life cycle starts as an egg (nit), develops to a nymph, and finally becomes an adult louse.
—Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 2 Dec. 2024
The body louse, as vector of epidemic typhus, helped ruin Napoleon’s march on Moscow.
—Barrett Klein, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Oct. 2024
Modern head lice and body lice diverged some 83,000 to 170,000 years ago, based on differences in their DNA.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2024
Without that bacterium, the body louse is doomed [Nature].
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2010
Unlike the body louse, the head louse isn’t known to spread disease.
—oregonlive, 28 Nov. 2021
Life in the Australian bush involved intimate encounters with many species, and of course head and body lice were among them. . .
—Kate Darnton, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Body louse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20louse. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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