Main Entry:

lo·cust

Pronunciation:

\ˈlō-kəst\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French locuste, from Latin locusta

Date:

14th century

1: short-horned grasshopper ; especially : a migratory grasshopper often traveling in vast swarms and stripping the areas passed of all vegetation2: cicada3 a: any of various leguminous trees: as (1): carob 1 (2): black locust (3): honey locust b: the wood of a locust tree