praying mantis

English

A praying mantis

Etymology

Mantis from Greek μάντις (mántis). Named "praying mantis" for their stance, with the forelegs held together in a way that resembles a person praying. Similar designations exist in many European as well as non-European languages. Compare for example French mante religieuse (literally “religious mantis”), German Gottesanbeterin (literally “God-worshipper”), Persian آخوندک‎ (âxundak, literally “little cleric”).

Noun

praying mantis (plural praying mantises or praying mantes)

1. Any of various predatory, cannibalistic insects of the order Mantodea that have a prayer-like stance.
2. (regional, in Europe) A mantid of the species Mantis religiosa.
3. A woman who preys on men (from the idea that female praying mantises eat males after sex).

Synonyms

• (general term): mantid, mantis

Translations

any of various predatory insects of the Mantidae family

• Afrikaans: hottentotsgod
• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: فَرَس اَلنَّبِيّ‎ m (faras an-nabiyy)
• Armenian: աղոթարար (hy) (ałotʿarar), հարցուկ (hy) (harcʿuk)
• Basque: marisorgin
• Belarusian: багамо́л m (bahamól)
• Bulgarian: богомо́лка f (bogomólka)
• Catalan: mantodeu m, pregadéu (ca) m, pregamans m
• Chinese:

  Dungan: хузы (huzɨ)

  Mandarin: 螳螂 (zh) (tángláng), 刀螂 (zh) (dāolang)

• Czech: kudlanka nábožná, kudlanka (cs) f
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: bidsprinkhaan (nl) m
• Finnish: rukoilijasirkka
• French: mante religieuse (fr) f
• German: Gottesanbeterin (de) f
• Greek: αλογάκι της Παναγίας (el) n (alogáki tis Panagías)
• Hebrew: גְּמַל שְׁלֹמֹה‎ (he) m (gamál shlomó)
• Hungarian: imádkozó sáska (hu), ájtatos manó
• Ilocano: wasaywasay
• Italian: mantide religiosa f
• Japanese: 螳螂, 蟷螂 (ja) (かまきり, カマキリ, kamakiri, とうろう, tōrō)
• Khmer: កណ្ដូបសេះ (kɑndoop seh)
• Korean: 사마귀 (ko) (samagwi), 당랑 (ko) (dangnang) (螳螂 (ko))

• Lao: ແມງມ້າ (mǣng mā)
• Lithuanian: maldininkas m
• Macedonian: богомолка f (bogomolka)
• Maori: rō, whē
• Navajo: Naakaii náázééł
• Persian: آخوندک‎ (fa) (âxundak)
• Pnar: chyrtoh
• Polish: modliszka (pl) f
• Portuguese: louva-a-deus (pt) m, cavalinho-de-deus m
• Romanian: călugăriță (ro) f
• Russian: богомо́л (ru) m (bogomól)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: богомољка f

  Roman: bogomoljka (sh) f

• Slovak: kudlanka f, kudlanka nábožná f
• Slovene: bogomolka (sl) f
• Spanish: mantis religiosa (es) f, rezadora (es) f, campamocha (es) f (Mexico), cerbatana (es) f (Venezuela), mamboretá f (Argentina, Uruguay), santateresa (es) f (Spain), tatadiós (es) m (Argentina), triquitesa f (Western Spain, specifically Extremadura), usamico m (Northwestern Argentina)
• Swedish: bönsyrsa (sv) c
• Tagalog: sambasamba, sasamba, mandadangkal
• Thai: ตั๊กแตนตำข้าว (dták-gà-dtɛɛn-dtam-kâao), ตั๊กแตนต่อยมวย
• Turkish: peygamberdevesi (tr), peygamber devesi (tr)
• Ukrainian: богомо́л m (bohomól)

any of various predatory insects of the Mantodea order

• Danish: knæler (da) c

Mantis religiosa

• Breton: pederez (br) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: rukoilijasirkka, eurooppalainen rukoilijasirkka

• French: mante religieuse (fr) f
• Russian: обыкнове́нный богомо́л m (obyknovénnyj bogomól)
• Slovene: bogomolka (sl) f
• Spanish: mantis religiosa (es) f