bug

See also: büg, Bug, búg, bůg, and buug

English

Etymology

First attested in this form around 1620 (referring to a bedbug), from earlier bugge (“beetle”), a conflation of two words:

Middle English bugge (“scarecrow, hobgoblin”), from Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”) (compare Norwegian bugge (“big man”), dialectal Low German Bögge (“goblin”, “snot”)
Middle English budde (“beetle”), from Old English budda (see scearnbudda (“dung beetle”)), from Proto-Germanic *buddô, *buzdô (compare Low German Budde (“louse, grub”), Norwegian budda (“newborn domestic animal”)). More at bud.

The term is used to refer to technical errors and problems at least as early as the 19th century, predating the commonly known story of a moth being caught in a computer.

Pronunciation

enPR: bŭg, IPA^(key): /bʌɡ/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ʌɡ
Hyphenation: bug

Noun

bug (plural bugs)

(colloquial, US) Any insect, arachnid, myriapod or entognath.
(entomology) An insect of the order Hemiptera (the “true bugs”).
(colloquial) Any insect, arachnid, or other terrestrial arthropod that is a pest.
These flies are a bother. I’ll get some bug spray and kill them.
Any of various species of marine or freshwater crustaceans; e.g. a Morton Bay bug, mudbug.
(chiefly computing and engineering jargon) A problem that needs fixing.
Synonyms: defect, glitch

The software bug led the computer to calculate 2 plus 2 as 3.
- Lua error in Module:quote at line 2566: Unrecognized value 'cited by' for type=; possible values are book,journal
- 1968 April, Popular Mechanics:
  A... leading aluminum producer claims it has worked all the bugs out of building and servicing aluminum radiators, says it hopes to have a large chunk of the radiator market by the early nineteen seventies.
A contagious illness; a bacterium or virus causing it
He’s got the flu bug.
(informal) An enthusiasm for something; an obsession
I think he’s a gold bug: he has over 10,000 ounces in storage.

I caught the skiing bug while staying in the Alps.
(informal) A keen enthusiast or hobbyist.
- 1961, Kiplinger's Personal Finance (volume 15, number 12, page 34)
  Incidentally, the camera manufacturers have had a new worry—that they might "kill off the hobby," as U.S. Camera magazine put it recently—by automating to the point that real camera bugs would feel no challenge.
A concealed electronic eavesdropping or intercept device
We installed a bug in her telephone.
A small and usually invisible file (traditionally a single-pixel image) on a World Wide Web page, primarily used to track users.
He suspected the image was a Web bug used for determining who was visiting the site.
(broadcasting) A small, usually transparent or translucent image placed in a corner of a television program to indicate what network or cable channel is televising it
Channel 4's bug distracted Jim from his favorite show.
(aviation) A manually positioned marker in flight instruments.
A semi-automated telegraph key.
- 1938, Paul Gallico, Farewell to Sport, page 257:
  At this point your telegraph operator, sitting at your right, goes "Ticky-tick-tickety-de-tick-tick," with his bug, as he calls his transmitter, and looks at you expectantly.
- 1942, Arthur Reinhold Nilson, Radio Code Manual, page 134:
  As far as the dashes are concerned, the bug is the same in operation as any regular key would be if it were turned up on edge instead of sitting flat on the desk.
- 1986, E. L. Doctorow, World's Fair, page 282:
  I was a very good radio operator. I bought my own bug. That's what the telegraph key in its modern form was called. It was semiautomatic.
(obsolete) Hobgoblin, scarecrow; anything that terrifies. [late 14th c.–early 17th. c]
Synonyms: bog, bogey, bogle, boggle, boggard, bugbear
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
  Sir, spare your threats: / The bug which you would fright me with I seek.
(chiefly LGBT, "the bug") HIV.
(poker) A limited form of wild card in some variants of poker.
(paleontology, slang) A trilobite.
- 2007, Kirk Johnson, Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway, p. 174:
  We asked Harris if he had any recommendations about seeing the famous trilobite digs. He said we should just drive out to his claim in the Wheeler Quadrangle, and it was just fine with him if we dug a few bugs.
(petroleum industry, slang, dated) Synonym of oil bug
- July 1933, Popular Science:
  Now, only three years later, most of the major oil companies maintain staffs of these men who examine cores, classify the various types of "bugs," or foraminifera, and make charts showing the depths at which each of the hundreds of types is found.
(slang, horse-racing) A young apprentice jockey.

Usage notes

Adjectives often applied to “bug”: major, minor, serious, critical, nasty, annoying, important, strange, stupid, flying, silly.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:defect

Derived terms

Translations

an insect of the order Hemiptera

Afrikaans: insek (af)
Bashkir: ҡандала (qandala)
Belarusian: клоп m (klop)
Catalan: xinxa f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 臭蟲／臭虫 (zh) (chòuchóng), 臭虫 (zh) (chòuchóng)
Czech: štěnice (cs) f
Dutch: wants (nl) f
Finnish: lude (fi)
French: insecte (fr) m, punaise (fr) f
German: Wanze (de) f, Schnabelkerf (de) m (zoology)
Haitian Creole: ensèk
Italian: cimice (it) f, insetto (it) m
Kalmyk: шалз (şalz)
Karakalpak: pite
Latin: cīmex m
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Latvian: blaktis m
Mi'kmaq: jujij anim, juji'ji'j anim
Navajo: chʼosh
Persian: ساس (fa) (sâs)
Polish: pluskwiak (pl) m
Portuguese: hemíptero (pt)
Romanian: please add this translation if you can
Russian: клоп (ru) m (klop)
Serbo-Croatian: kukac (sh) m, insekt (sh) m, polukrilac m
Slovene: hrošč (sl) m, stenica (sl) f, zajedavska stenica f
Spanish: chinche (es) m
Turkish: böcek (tr)
Ukrainian: клоп m (klop)
Welsh: pryf (cy) m, lleuen (cy) f, llau (cy) f pl

a colloquial name for insect

Afrikaans: gogga
Armenian: բլոճ (hy) (bloč), բլոջ (hy) (bloǰ), բողոճ (hy) (boġoč)
Bashkir: бөжәк (böjək)
Basque: zomorro (eu), insektu
Belarusian: кузу́рка f (kuzúrka), казю́лька f (kazjúlʹka), казя́ўка f (kazjáŭka), казу́рка f (kazúrka)
Bulgarian: буболечка (bg) f (bubolečka)
Catalan: cuca f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 蟲／虫 (zh), 虫 (zh) (chóng)
Czech: brouk (cs) m
Danish: insekt (da) n, kryb n
Dutch: insect (nl) n, beestje (nl) n
Esperanto: cimo (eo)
Finnish: ötökkä (fi)
French: insecte (fr) m, petite bête (fr) f
Galician: becho (gl) m, bicho m, coco m
German: Wanze (de) f, Krabbeltier n, Ungeziefer (de) n (pest)
Greek: κοριός (el) m (koriós), ζωύφιο (el) n (zoýfio), ζουζούνι (el) n (zouzoúni)
Haitian Creole: ensèk
Hebrew: חרק (he) m (kharák)
Hungarian: bogár (hu)
Indonesian: serangga (id)
Irish: feithid f
Italian: bacarozzo m
Japanese: 虫 (ja) (むし, mushi)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Khmer: សត្វល្អិត (km) (sat l’ət)
Korean: 벌레 (ko) (beolle)
Latin: cīmex m
Latvian: kukainis m
Maltese: insett żgħir m
Mi'kmaq: jujij anim, juji'ji'j anim
Mongolian: шавьж (mn) (šavʹž), бясаа (mn) (bjasaa), хорхой (mn) (xorxoj)
Nanai: колан (kolan)
Navajo: chʼosh
Polish: robak (pl) m, robal (pl) m, owad (pl) m, insekt (pl) m
Portuguese: bicho (pt) m, bichinho (pt) m
Romanian: gândac (ro), gânganie (ro)
Russian: (colloquial) бука́шка (ru) (bukáška), (colloquial) козя́вка (ru) (kozjávka), (standard term) насеко́мое (ru) n (nasekómoje)
Serbo-Croatian: buba (sh) f
Slovene: žužek m
Spanish: bicho (es) m
Swedish: kryp (sv) n
Tagalog: gagapang
Thai: แมลง (th) (má-lɛɛng), แมง (mɛɛng)
Turkish: böcek (tr)
Ukrainian: кома́шка f (komáška), ку́зька f (kúzʹka), ку́зка f (kúzka), кома́ха (uk) f (komáxa) (standard term)
Vietnamese: bọ (vi)
Welsh: pryf (cy) m, lleuen (cy) f, llau (cy) f pl

various species of marine crustaceans

French: cigale de mer (fr) f
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

problem that needs fixing (especially in computing)

Arabic: خَطَأ m (ḵaṭaʔ)
Armenian: վրեպ (hy) (vrep), բագ (hy) (bag), սխալ (hy) (sxal)
Belarusian: памы́лка f (pamýlka), баг m (bah)
Bulgarian: гре́шка (bg) f (gréška)
Catalan: error (ca) m, defecte (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 錯誤／错误 (zh) (cuòwù), 错误 (zh) (cuòwù)
Czech: chyba (cs) f
Dutch: bug (nl) m
Esperanto: cimo (eo), fuŝo (eo), miso
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: bugi (fi)
French: bogue (fr) m, bug (fr)
Georgian: ხარვეზი (xarvezi), შეცდომა (šecdoma), პრობლემა (ṗroblema), დეფექტი (depekṭi), გაუმართაობა (gaumartaoba), დაზიანება (dazianeba)
German: Fehler (de) m, Fehlfunktion f, Bug (de) m
Greek: (software) σφάλμα (el) n (sfálma), (hardware) ελάττωμα (el) n (eláttoma)
Hebrew: באג (he) m (bag)
Hungarian: hiba (hu)
Icelandic: böggur n
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Interlingua: bug
Italian: malfunzionamento (it) m, errore (it) m
Japanese: (general) 不具合 (fuguai), (general) バグ (ja) (bagu)
Khmer: កំហុស (km) (kɑmhoh)
Korean: 버그 (ko) (beogeu)
Macedonian: грешка f (greška)
Maltese: bagg m
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Persian: باگ (bâg), اشکال (fa) (eškâl)
Polish: byk (pl) m, bug (pl) m, błąd (pl) m
Portuguese: defeito (pt) m, falha (pt) f, bug (pt) m, erro (pt) m
Russian: баг (ru) m (bag), оши́бка (ru) f (ošíbka), дефе́кт (ru) m (defékt), глюк (ru) m (gljuk)
Serbo-Croatian: greška (sh) f
Slovak: chyba f
Slovene: hrošč (sl) m
Spanish: error (es) m, fallo (es) m, defecto (es) m
Swedish: bugg (sv) c
Thai: บั๊ก (bák), จุดบกพร่อง (jùt-bòk-prɔ̂ng)
Ukrainian: поми́лка (uk) f (pomýlka), баг m (bah)
Vietnamese: lỗi (vi)

contagious illness, bacteria, virus

Chinese:
Mandarin: 病菌 (zh) (bìngjūn)
Finnish: pöpö (fi)
French: microbe (fr) m, virus (fr) m
German: Bazillus (de) m, Mikrobe (de) f
Greek: ιός (el) m (iós)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Italian: batterio (it) m, virus (it) m
Japanese: 黴菌 (ja) (ばいきん, baikin)
Maltese: infezzjoni, vajrus
Portuguese: micróbio (pt) m
Russian: ви́русное заболева́ние n (vírusnoje zabolevánije), ви́рус (ru) m (vírus), инфе́кция (ru) f (infékcija)
Serbo-Croatian: bakterija (sh) f, virus (sh) m, mikrob (sh) m

an enthusiasm for something

Catalan: febre (ca) f, mania (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 熱衷／热衷 (zh) (rèzhōng), 热衷 (zh) (rèzhōng)
Finnish: kuume (fi), kärpänen (fi)
French: virus (fr) m, manie (fr) f
German: Fieber (de) n
Hebrew: חידק (he) (H(χ) aidak, literally, Bacteria)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Italian: morbo (it) m, passione (it) f, mania (it) f
Japanese: 熱 (ja) (ねつ, netsu)
Portuguese: ânimo (pt) m
Russian: помеша́тельство (ru) n (pomešátelʹstvo), пове́трие (ru) n (povétrije), (пова́льное) увлече́ние (ru) n (uvlečénije)
Serbo-Croatian: groznica (sh) f
Spanish: manía (es) f, pasión (es) f

an electronic listening device

Bulgarian: бръмбар (bg) m (brǎmbar)
Catalan: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Mandarin: 竊聽器／窃听器 (zh) (qiètīngqì), 窃听器 (zh) (qiētīngqì)
Czech: štěnice (cs) f
Finnish: salakuuntelulaite, kuuntelulaite (fi)
French: mouchard (fr) m, micro (fr) m, écoute (fr) f
Georgian: ფარულად მოსასმენი (parulad mosasmeni), ფარული მოსმენის ელექტრონული მოწყობილობა (paruli mosmenis elekṭronuli moc̣q̇obiloba)
German: Wanze (de) f
Greek: κοριός (el) m (koriós)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} מיקרופון (he) (Microphon, literally, Microphone)
Interlingua: microphono celate
Italian: cimice (it) f, microspia f
Japanese: 盗聴器 (tōchōki)
Korean: 도청기 (docheonggi)
Norman: bog'se d'êcoute-pathai f
Polish: pluskwa (pl) f
Portuguese: (Brazil) grampo (pt) m
Romanian: microfon (ro) n
Russian: жучо́к (ru) m (žučók), прослу́шка (ru) f (proslúška)
Spanish: micrófono oculto m

a small or invisible image on a World Wide Web page

French: pixel de tracking m, traceur (fr) m
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a small image placed in a corner of a television program

Finnish: logo (fi)
French: logo (fr) m
German: Logo (de) n
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Hebrew: סמל (he) (Semel, literally, Symbol)
Italian: logo della rete m
Polish: logo (pl) n

manually positioned marker in flight instruments

(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a semi-automated telegraph key

(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Korean: ^{(please verify)} 벌레 (ko) (boelle)
Norwegian: (2) ^{(please verify)} insekt (no) n, (3) ^{(please verify)} feil (no) m, (4) ^{(please verify)} bakterie (no) m
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Slovak: ^{(please verify)} inzekt, ^{(please verify)} chrobák (sk) m

Verb

bug (third-person singular simple present bugs, present participle bugging, simple past and past participle bugged)

(informal, transitive) To annoy.
Don’t bug me, I’m busy!
(transitive) To install an electronic listening device or devices in.
We need to know what’s going on. We’ll bug his house.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:annoy

Derived terms

bug out

Translations

to annoy

Chinese:
Mandarin: 煩擾／烦扰 (zh) (fánrǎo), 烦扰 (zh) (fánrǎo)
Finnish: häiritä (fi), ärsyttää (fi)
French: ennuyer (fr), embêter (fr), agacer (fr), enquiquiner (fr), (vulgar) emmerder (fr), taper sur le système (fr)
German: nerven (de)
Greek: τρώω (el) (tróo)
Interlingua: irritar, vexar
Italian: infastidire (it), scocciare (it)
Japanese: 邪魔をする (ja) (じゃまをする, jama o suru)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Latin: piget, taedet
Malagasy: manelingelina (mg), manahirana (mg), manadala (mg)
Polish: (informal and usually impolite) wkurzać
Portuguese: chatear (pt)
Russian: надоеда́ть (ru) impf (nadojedátʹ), достава́ть (ru) impf (dostavátʹ)
Slovene: (colloq) živcirati
Spanish: molestar (es), hacer la puñeta (colloquial), buscarle las cosquillas (colloquial)
Turkish: kızdırmak (tr)

to install an electronic listening device in

Chinese:
Mandarin: 安裝竊聽器／安装窃听器, 安装窃听器 (ānzhuāng qiētīngqì)
Finnish: asentaa salakuuntelulaite
French: poser (fr) un mouchard (fr), un micro (fr), mettre sur écoute , microter (fr)
German: verwanzen (de)
Interlingua: installar microphonos
Italian: spiare (it), intercettare (it)
Japanese: 盗聴器を仕掛ける (tōchōki o shikakeru)
(deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
Norman: bog'ser
Polish: zakładać pluskwę impf, założyć pluskwę pf, podkładać pluskwę impf, podłożyć pluskwę pf
Portuguese: (Brazil) grampear (pt)
Russian: устана́вливать аппарату́ру для подслу́шивания impf (ustanávlivatʹ apparatúru dlja podslúšivanija)
Slovene: namestiti prisluškovalno napravo
Spanish: colocar micrófonos ocultos
Swedish: bugga (sv)

Anagrams

gub

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse búkr.

Noun

bug c (singular definite bugen, plural indefinite buge)

Inflection

Declension of bug

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bug	bugen	buge	bugene
genitive	bugs	bugens	buges	bugenes

French

Alternative forms

(computing) bogue

Etymology

English bug

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bœɡ/, /bɔɡ/

Noun

bug m (plural bugs)

(slang) bug (problem, especially in computing)

Derived terms

buguer

Karipúna Creole French

FWOTD – 17 February 2014

Etymology

From French bougre (“chap, guy”)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbuɡ/

Noun

bug

boy (young male human)

References

1987, Alfred W. Tobler, Dicionário Crioulo Karipúna/Português Português/Crioulo Karípúna, Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 5.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English bug.

Pronunciation

Lua error in Module:parameters at line 291: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Brazil" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA^(key): /ˈbɐɡ/, /ˈbɐ.ɡi/, /ˈbuɡ/, /ˈbu.ɡi/

Noun

bug m (plural s)

(computing) bug (error in a program’s functioning)
(slang) anything causing unusual behaviour

Synonyms

(error): defeito, falha, erro

Derived terms

bugado
bugar

Spanish

Noun

bug m (plural bugs)

(computing) bug

bug

Contents

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Karipúna Creole French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Spanish

Noun

Navigation menu

bug

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Karipúna Creole French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Spanish

Noun

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