antilocust

See also: anti-locust

English

WOTD – 8 April 2026

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent-

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts

Proto-Indo-European *-i

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntider.

Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́)

Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-)der.

English anti-

Proto-Indo-European *lek-der.?

Latin locusta

Anglo-Norman locustebor.

Middle English locuste

English locust

English antilocust

From anti- (prefix meaning ‘against, opposed to; counteracting’) +‎ locust.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌæntiˈləʊkəst/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌæntiˈloʊkəst/, /-ˌtaɪ-/, /-tə-/, [-ɾi-], [-ɾə-]
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -əʊkəst
Hyphenation: an‧ti‧lo‧cust

Adjective

antilocust (not comparable)

Destroying or opposing locusts.
Hypernyms: antibug, antiinsect
- 1942 December 15 (date delivered), B[oris] P[etrovitch] Uvarov, “The Locust Plague”, in Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution […] (publication 3776), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, pages 342–343:
  From the point of view of organization, war conditions proved to be, paradoxically, more favorable for an anti-locust campaign than normal times. The importance of safeguarding vital food supplies, both for the troops and the population, became a powerful factor in obtaining the willing cooperation of all concerned.
- 1962 May 29, “U.S. Helps Afghanistan Fight Locust Menace [press release 342]”, in The Department of State Bulletin (publication 7389), volume XLVI, number 1199, Washington, D.C.: Office of Public Services, Bureau of Public Affairs, [United States Department of State], published 18 June 1962, →OCLC, page 988, column 1:
  The aircraft is specially equipped for antilocust spraying operations. In addition a Cessna-type aircraft also equipped for spraying is proceeding from Iran to Afghanistan. Both aircraft have been participating in U.S. Government antilocust assistance efforts in Iran.
- 1982 March, James H. Tsai, “Entomology in the People’s Republic of China”, in Journal of the New York Entomological Society, volume XC, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Allen Press for the New York Entomological Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 189:
  The locust problem has plagued Chinese agriculture for as long as Chinese history is dated. […] The first antilocust decree was issued in 29 A.D. […].
- 1984 January–February, “Notes and Observations: An Anonymous Sixteenth-century Treatise on Locusts”, in J. M. Chalmers-Hunt, editor, The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation, volume 96, numbers 1–2, London: […] Frowde & Co. [for the Amateur Entomologists’ Society], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 34:
  The author suggests flooding fields to destroy eggs; the use of smoke and ditches filled with brine to combat 'plagues'; and such anti-locust specifics as oil of wormwood, extract of centaury, and bitter lupins boiled in brine.
- 2011, Michel Lecoq, Abdou Chamouine, My-Hanh Luong-Skovmand, “Phase-dependent Color Polyphenism in Field Populations of Red Locust Nymphs (Nomadacris septemfasciata Serv.) in Madagascar”, in Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, volume 2011, Cambridge, Mass.: Hindawi Publishing Corporation for the Cambridge Entomology Club, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, article ID 105352, page 9, column 1:
  The gregarization threshold may be reflective of the hopper environment, particulary the structure of the vegetation. […] We believe that the threshold concept takes on certain significance and is of considerable value for the local antilocust survey service, even if the figures are only a rough estimate.

Alternative forms

anti-locust

Translations

destroying or opposing locusts

Bulgarian: проти́в скака́лци (protív skakálci)
Finnish: kulkusirkkoja tuhoava (destroying)
French: please add this translation if you can