white-faced hornet

noun

See under hornet.

Origin of white-faced hornet

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Words nearby white-faced hornet

white-collar crime, white-crowned sparrow, white-eye, white-eyed vireo, white-faced, white-faced hornet, white-flowered gourd, white-footed mouse, white-fringed beetle, white-fronted goose, white-fronted tern

Definition for white-faced hornet (2 of 2)

hornet
[ hawr-nit ]
/ ˈhɔr nɪt /

noun

any large, stinging paper wasp of the family Vespidae, as Vespa crabro (giant hornet), introduced into the U.S. from Europe, or Vespula maculata (bald-faced hornet or white-faced hornet), of North America.

Origin of hornet

before 900; Middle English harnete, Old English hyrnet(u); cognate with Old High German hornaz (> German Horniss); akin to horn

British Dictionary definitions for white-faced hornet

hornet
/ (ˈhɔːnɪt) /

noun

any of various large social wasps of the family Vespidae, esp Vespa crabro of Europe, that can inflict a severe sting
hornet's nest a strongly unfavourable reaction (often in the phrase stir up a hornet's nest)

Word Origin for hornet

Old English hyrnetu; related to Old Saxon hornut, Old High German hornuz

Idioms and Phrases with white-faced hornet

hornet

see mad as a hornet; stir up a hornet's nest.