Plants & CreaturesGreek → English
Mantis
/ˈmæntɪs/noun
A predatory insect that waits with its forelegs folded and seizes passing prey.
The Greek roots
μάντις
mántis
seer, prophet
Literally: “prophet”
Follow a root:μάντις1 word
The story of the word
Greeks called the insect a prophet because the folded forelegs look like hands raised in prayer or divination. The same noun names Tiresias and the seers at Delphi. English adds praying twice over, since the species name religiosa says the same thing in Latin.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Modern Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
necromancychiromancy
In a sentence
A mantis sat on the window screen all evening, swaying like a dry leaf.