[wasp] n [ME waspe, fr. OE waeps, waesp; akin to OHG wafsa wasp, L vespa wasp] (bef. 12c) 1: any of numerous social or solitary winged hymenopterous insects (esp. families Sphecidae and Vespidae) that usu. have a slender smooth body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk, well-developed wings, biting mouthparts, and in the females and workers an often formidable sting, and that are largely carnivorous and often provision their nests with caterpillars, insects, or spiders killed or paralyzed by stinging for their larvae to feed on--compare bee
2: any of various hymenopterous insects (as a chalcid or ichneumon fly) other than wasps with larvae that are parasitic on other arthropods -- wasp.like adj WASP or Wasp n, often attrib [white Anglo-Saxon Protestant] (1957): an American of Northern European and esp. British ancestry and of Protestant background; esp: a member of the dominant and the most privileged class of people in the U.S.--sometimes used disparagingly -- Wasp.dom n -- Wasp.ish adj -- Wasp.ish.ness n -- Waspy adj