parasite

par·a·site  (pr-st)

n.

1. Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.

2.

a. One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.

b. One who lives off and flatters the rich; a sycophant.

3. A professional dinner guest, especially in ancient Greece.

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[Latin parastus, a person who lives by amusing the rich, from Greek parastos, person who eats at someone else's table, parasite : para-, beside; see para-¹ + stos, grain, food.]

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parasite

Noun

1. an animal or plant that lives in or on another from which it obtains nourishment

2. a person who habitually lives at the expense of others; sponger [Greek para- beside + sitos grain]

parasitic adj

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parasite  (pr-st)

An organism that lives on or in a different kind of organism (the host) from which it gets some or all of its nourishment. Parasites are generally harmful to their hosts, although the damage they do ranges widely from minor inconvenience to debilitating or fatal disease. A parasite that lives or feeds on the outer surface of the host's body, such as a louse, tick, or leech, is called an ectoparasite. Ectoparasites do not usually cause disease themselves although they are frequently a vector of disease, as in the case of ticks, which can transmit the organisms that cause such diseases as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. A parasite that lives inside the body of its host is called an endoparasite. Endoparasites include organisms such as tapeworms, hookworms, and trypanosomes that live within the host's organs or tissues, as well as organisms such as sporozoans that invade the host's cells. See more at host.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	parasite - an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host organism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently plant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion endoparasite, endozoan, entoparasite, entozoan, entozoon - any of various parasites that live in the internal organs of animals (especially intestinal worms) ectoparasite, ectozoan, ectozoon, epizoan, epizoon - any external parasitic organism (as fleas) parasitic plant - plant living on another plant and obtaining organic nutriment from it host - an animal or plant that nourishes and supports a parasite; it does not benefit and is often harmed by the association
	2.	parasite - a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage leech, sponger, sponge follower - a person who accepts the leadership of another

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parasite

noun sponger, (informal) sponge (informal) drone Brit. leech, hanger-on, scrounger (informal) bloodsucker (informal) cadger, quandong Austral. (slang)

Translations

parasite [ˈpærəsaɪt] n → parásito/a

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parasite [ˈpærəsaɪt] n → parasite m

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parasite [ˈpærəsaɪt] n (also fig) → Parasit m

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parasite [ˈpærəsaɪt] n → parassita m