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staph·y·lin·id

(stăf′ə-lĭnĭd, -līnĭd)

See rove beetle.

[From New Latin Staphylīnidae, family name, from Staphylīnus, type genus (established by Carl Linnaeus in 1758), from Greek staphulīnos, a kind of beetle (possibly the chrysomelid Timarcha tenebricosa, somewhat resembling a grape in having a rounded black or purplish body and exuding a pungent red liquid as a defense), from staphulē, bunch of grapes, probably of Mediterranean substrate origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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