Synonyme
wiretap,
buh,
bacillus,
disease,
germ,
infection,
microbe,
virus,
ant,
beetle,
cootie,
flea,
gnat,
louse,
pestEtymologie
() 1620 (referring to a bedbug); from earlier bugge 'beetle', conflation of (1) Middle English bugge 'scarecrow, hobgoblin', from Proto-Germanic *bugja- 'swollen up, thick' (cf. Norwegian bugge 'big man', Low German dialect Bögge 'goblin, snot'); and (2) Middle English budde 'beetle', from Old English -budda (cf. scearnbudda 'dung beetle'), from Proto-Germanic *buddōn (compare Low German Budde 'louse, grub', Norwegian budda 'newborn domestic animal'). More at bud.