Etymology
The scientific name for the order, Dermaptera, is Greek in origin, stemming from the words derma, meaning skin, and pteron(plural ptera), wing. It was coined by Charles De Geer in 1773. The common term, earwig, is derived from the Old English Δ“are, which means "ear", and wicga, which means "insect". The name may be related to the old wives' tale that earwigs burrowed into the brains of humans through the ear and laid their eggs there. Earwigs are predisposed to hiding in warm humid crevices and may indeed occasionally crawl into the human ear canal (much like any other small organism).
"To earwig" is a slang verb meaning either "to attempt to influence by persistent confidential argument or talk". or "to eavesdrop".
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)