COCKCHAFER


Meaning of COCKCHAFER in English

ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun

( -s )

Etymology: cock (I) + chafer; perhaps from its size

: a large European scarablike beetle ( Melolontha melolontha ) that is destructive to vegetation, the larva feeding on roots, the adult on the foliage ; also : any of various related beetles of similar habits formerly constituting a subfamily of Scarabeidae but now often made a separate family, Melolonthidae (as the pasture cockchafers or the New World rose chafer) — compare june beetle ; see grass-grub

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.