/man tis"pid/ , n.
any neuropterous, mantislike insect of the family Mantispidae, the larvae of which are parasites in the nests of spiders or wasps.
[ Mantispidae family of insects, equiv. to Mantisp ( a ) genus name (appar. erroneously for * Mantiopa, equiv. to manti ( s ) MANTIS + Gk -op ( s ) having a face (of a given sort), resembling (adj. use of óps face, eye; cf. -OPSIS) + NL -a -A 2 ) + -idae -ID 2 ]