Pl. termites. [mod.L. (Linnæus, 1748), a. late L. termes (Isidore) a wood-worm, earlier also tarmes, f. root of L. terere, Gr. τείρ-ειν to rub, bore.] = TERMITE.
[1706. Phillips (ed. Kersey), Termes, (Lat.) … also a little Worm commonly call’d a Death-watch; a Maggot, or Gentle.]
1781. Termites [see TERMITE].
1800. Asiat. Ann. Reg., 5/2. The termes, or what is called the white ant, infests this island.
1834. Pringle, Afr. Sk., viii. 287. The termes of South Africa is not the destructive species.
