tenebrionid

noun

te·​ne·​bri·​o·​nid tə-ˈne-brē-ə-nəd  ˌte-nə-ˈbrī-ə-nəd 

: darkling beetle

tenebrionid adjective

Word History

Etymology

from the base of New Latin Tenebrionidae, family name, from Tenebrion-, Tenebrio, a genus of the family (going back to Latin tenebriōn-, tenebriō "someone who does things in the dark [by implication in an underhanded way]," from tenebrae "darkness" + -iōn-, -iō, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) + -idae -idae — more at tenebrae

Note: The genus name Tenebrio was introduced by linnaeus (Systema naturae, Stockholm, 1758, tomus I, p. 417); he used the name for the beetle earlier in Fauna suecica (1746).

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above