ə̇nˈsektə noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, plural of insectum insect
1. in former classifications : a large group of segmented animals including (1) many worms and the arthropods, (2) all the arthropods, (3) the true insects, the myriapods, and the arachnids, or (4) the myriapods and the insects
2. : a class of Arthropoda comprising segmented animals that as adults have a well-defined head bearing a single pair of antennae, three pairs of mouthparts, and usually a pair of compound eyes, a 3-segmented thorax each segment of which bears a pair of legs ventrally with the second and third often bearing also a pair of dorsolateral wings, and an abdomen usually of 7 to 10 visible segments without true jointed legs but often with the last segments modified or fitted with specialized extensions (as claspers, stings, ovipositors), that breathe air usually through a ramifying system of tracheae which open externally through spiracles or gills, that exhibit a variety of life cycles often involving complex metamorphosis, and that include the greater part of all living and extinct animals — see protura ; compare collembola