par|a|site

par|a|site «PAR uh syt», noun.

1. an animal or plant that lives on or in another from which it gets its food, always at the expense of the host. It may or may not injure the host, but it is usually unable to exist independently. Lice and tapeworms are parasites on animals. Mistletoe is a parasite on oak trees.

2. Figurative. a person who lives on others without making any useful and fitting return; hanger-on: »

The lazy man was a parasite on his family. Nine people out of ten looked on him as something of a parasite, with no real work in the world (John Galsworthy).

3. = parasite plane. (Cf. ↑parasite plane)

4. in ancient Greece: a) a person who ate at the table or at the expense of another, earning meals by flattery or wit. b) a priest's assistant who was admitted with the priests to the feast after a sacrifice.

╂[< Latin parasītus < Greek parásītos, adjective, feeding beside < para- alongside of + sîtos food]