body louse

noun

: a louse feeding primarily on the body

especially : a sucking louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) feeding on the body and living in the clothing of humans

called also cootie

Examples of body louse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The body louse life cycle starts as an egg (nit), develops to a nymph, and finally becomes an adult louse. —Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 2 Dec. 2024

The body louse, as vector of epidemic typhus, helped ruin Napoleon’s march on Moscow. —Barrett Klein, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Oct. 2024

Modern head lice and body lice diverged some 83,000 to 170,000 years ago, based on differences in their DNA. —Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2024

Without that bacterium, the body louse is doomed [Nature]. —Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2010

Unlike the body louse, the head louse isn’t known to spread disease. —oregonlive, 28 Nov. 2021

Life in the Australian bush involved intimate encounters with many species, and of course head and body lice were among them. . . —Kate Darnton, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1545, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

body louse

noun

: a sucking louse that lives in the clothing and feeds on the human body

Medical Definition

body louse

noun

: a louse feeding primarily on the body

especially : a sucking louse of the genus Pediculus (P. humanus humanus synonym P. h. corporis) feeding on the human body and living in clothing

called also cootie