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2. Like an insect; small; mean; ephemeral.

||In*sec"ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See Insect.] 1. (Zoöl.) One of the classes ||of Arthropoda, including those that have one pair of antennæ, three ||pairs of mouth organs, and breathe air by means of tracheæ, opening ||by spiracles along the sides of the body. In this sense it includes ||the Hexapoda, or six-legged insects and the Myriapoda, with numerous ||legs. See Insect, n. || 2. (Zoöl.) In a more restricted sense, the Hexapoda alone. See Hexapoda.

3. (Zoöl.) In the most general sense, the Hexapoda, Myriapoda, and Arachnoidea, combined.

The typical Insecta, or hexapod insects, are divided into several orders, viz.: Hymenoptera, as the bees and ants; Diptera, as the common flies and gnats; Aphaniptera, or fleas; Lepidoptera, or moths and butterflies; Neuroptera, as the ant-lions and hellgamite; Coleoptera, or beetles; Hemiptera, as bugs, lice, aphids; Orthoptera, as grasshoppers and cockroaches; Pseudoneuroptera, as the dragon flies and termites; Euplexoptera, or earwigs; Thysanura, as the springtails, podura, and lepisma. See these words in the Vocabulary.

In"sec*ta*ry (?), n. A place for keeping living insects. -- In`sec*ta"ri*um (#), n. [L.]

In`sec*ta"tion (?), n. [L. insectatio. See Insectator.] The act of pursuing; pursuit; harassment; persecution. [Obs.] Sir T. More.

In`sec*ta"tor (?), n. [L., fr. insectari to pursue, freq. fr. insequi. See Ensue.] A pursuer; a persecutor; a censorious critic. [Obs.] Bailey.

In"sect*ed (?), a. Pertaining to, having the nature of, or resembling, an insect. Howell.

In*sec"ti*cide (?), n. [Insect + L. caedere to kill.] An agent or preparation for destroying insects; an insect powder. -- In*sec"ti*ci`dal (#), a.

In*sec"tile (?), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, insects. Bacon.

In*sec"tion (?), n. [See Insect.] A cutting in; incisure; incision.

||In`sec*tiv"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., from L. insectum an insect + vorare ||to devour.] (Zoöl.) 1. An order of mammals which feed principally ||upon insects. || They are mostly of small size, and their molar teeth have sharp cusps. Most of the species burrow in the earth, and many of those of cold climates hibernate in winter. The order includes the moles, shrews, hedgehogs, tanrecs, and allied animals, also the colugo.

2. A division of the Cheiroptera, including the common or insect-eating bats.

In*sec"ti*vore (?), n.; pl. Insectivores (-vrz). [F.] (Zoöl.) One of the Insectivora.

In`sec*tiv"o*rous (?), a. [See Insectivora.] Feeding or subsisting on insects; carnivorous. The term is applied: (a) to plants which have some special adaptation for catching and digesting insects, as the sundew, Venus's flytrap, Sarracenia, etc. (b) to the Insectivora, and to many bats, birds, and reptiles.

In`sec*tol"o*ger (?), n. An entomologist. [Obs.]

In`sec*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Insect + -logy: cf. F. insectologie.] Entomology. [Obs.]

In`se*cure" (?), a. 1. Not secure; not confident of safety or permanence; distrustful; suspicious; apprehensive of danger or loss.

With sorrow and insecure apprehensions.

Jer. Taylor.

2. Not effectually guarded, protected, or sustained; unsafe; unstable; exposed to danger or loss. Bp. Hurg.

The trade with Egypt was exceedingly insecure and precarious.

Mickle.

In`se*cure"ly, adv. In an insecure manner.

In`se*cure"ness, n. Insecurity.

In`se*cu"ri*ty (?), n.; pl. Insecurities (#). [Pref. in- not + security : cf. LL. insecuritas, F. insecurite.] 1. The condition or quality of being insecure; want of safety; danger; hazard; as, the insecurity of a building liable to fire; insecurity of a debt.

2. The state of feeling insecure; uncertainty; want of confidence.

With what insecurity of truth we ascribe effects . . . unto arbitrary calculations.