especially: one of a formerly extensive genus (Acarus)
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from New Latin, a re-formation as a masculine noun of Greek akarí (neuter) "mite," probably of pre-Greek substratal origin
Note:
The masculine re-formation of Greek akarí is perhaps late Medieval Latin; the form appears in 16th-century Latin/vernacular dictionaries such as the Dutch-Latin dictionary of Cornelis Kiliaan. Greek akarí is conventionally associated with the adjective akarḗs, "tiny, minute," though of equal if not more relevance might be kárnos, "louse" (Hesychius) and kóris, "bedbug."
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