n. Any of various often colorful, metallic beetles of the family Buprestidae, many of which are destructive wood borers as larvae. [From New Latin Būprēstidae, family name, from Būprēstis, type genus, from Latin būprēstis, beetle harmful to cattle, from Greek bouprēstis : bous, ox; see gwou- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + prēthein, to swell up.] bu·prestid adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.