GRASSHOPPER • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Grasshopper

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/grˈæshˌɑpər/ Listen

noun

Grasshopper n.

(Zool.) Any jumping, orthopterous insect, of the families Acrididae and Locustidae, having large hind legs adapted for leaping, and chewing mouth parts. The species and genera are very numerous and some are very destructive to crops. The former family includes the Western grasshopper or locust (Caloptenus spretus), noted for the great extent of its ravages in the region beyond the Mississippi. In the Eastern United States the red-legged (Caloptenus femurrubrum and C. atlanis) are closely related species, but their ravages are less important. They are closely related to the migratory locusts of the Old World. See Locust. Note: The meadow or green grasshoppers belong to the Locustidae. They have long antennae, large ovipositors, and stridulating organs at the base of the wings in the male. The European great green grasshopper (Locusta viridissima) belongs to this family. The common American green species mostly belong to Xiphidium, Orchelimum, and Conocephalus.

In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key; called also the hopper.

(Mil.) An antipersonnel mine that jumps from the ground to body height when activated, and explodes, hurling metal fragments over a wide area.

A mixed alcoholic beverage containing crème de menthe, light cream, and sometimes crème de cacao. The name comes from its light green color.

Grasshopper engine, a steam engine having a working beam with its fulcrum at one end, the steam cylinder at the other end, and the connecting rod at an intermediate point.

Grasshopper lobster (Zool.) a young lobster. (Local, U. S.)

Grasshopper warbler (Zool.), cricket bird.

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Etymology of 'Grasshopper'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Grasshopper" Quotes from Famous Books

... Grasshopper, and a Toy-goose once wanted to see which of them could jump highest, and so they invited the whole world and everybody else who would like to come, to see the frolic. When the three met together in the room, everyone ...

— Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore • Laure Claire Foucher

... glanced carefully round to see whether anyone was watching her; then, as nobody except Patty appeared to be looking, she drew away a fold of her handkerchief, cautiously opened the little box, and out hopped a huge grasshopper, which bounded straight on to Cissie Gardiner's blouse. Patty was so fascinated by gazing at it, and wondering where its next leap would take it, that she started when Miss Rowe asked her a question, and for ...

— The Nicest Girl in the School - A Story of School Life • Angela Brazil

... convincing enough they are for him who wants to be convinced. But in truth faith is a noble venture of the spirit, an aspiring effort towards what is best, even though what is best may never be attained. The mole gropes blindly in unquestionably solid clay; better be like the grasshopper "that spends itself in leaps all day to reach the sun." A grasshopper's leap sunwards—that is what we signify by this ...

— Robert Browning • Edward Dowden

... till towards evening one of them shot a salmon in the river, and a few small fish were caught, which furnished them with a scanty meal. The only animals they had seen were a few pigeons, some very wild hares, a great number of the large black grasshopper, and a quantify of ...

— History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I. • Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

... seems to be close by though at a hundred yards' distance; and when close at your ear, is scarce any louder than when a great way off. Had I not been a little acquainted with insects, and known that the grasshopper kind is not yet hatched, I should have hardly believed but that it had been a locusta whispering in the bushes. The country people laugh when you tell them that it is the note of a bird. It is a most artful creature, skulking in the ...

— The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 • Gilbert White

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