combining form of Gr. ἔντομος adj. ‘cut up,’ in neut. pl. used in sense ‘insects,’ with reference to the division of their bodies into segments: cf. L. insecta: see INSECT. Occurring with sense ‘insect’ in many scientific compounds of modern formation, as Entomogenous a. Bot. [Gr. -γενής born, produced + -OUS], having its growth in the body of insects. Entomolite, Geol. [Gr. λίθος stone], a fossil insect. Entomometer [Gr. μέτρον measure], an instrument for measuring the parts of insects. Entomophagan, Zool. [Gr. φαγ-εῖν to eat + -AN], one of the Entomophaga or insect-eaters—in mammals, a division of the Marsupialia, in insects of the Hymenoptera. Entomophagous a. [Gr. φαγ-εῖν to eat + -OUS], insect-eating. Entomophilous a. Bot. [Gr. φίλ-ος friend + -OUS], applied to plants in which fertilization is effected through the agency of insects. Entomostracan a. Zool. and Geol. [Gr. ὄστρακ-ον shell + -AN], of or belonging to the Entomostraca, one of the orders of the Crustacea (see quot.); also as sb. Entomostracous a. [Gr. ὄστρακ-ον + -OUS] = prec. Entomotomist, Zool. [f. next + -IST], one who dissects insects. Entomotomy, Zool. [Gr. -τομία cutting], the science of the dissection of insects to ascertain their structure, insect anatomy.
1865. Reader, No. 119. 406/1. Curious *entomogenous fungi.
1840–3. Humble, Dict. Geol. & Min., *Entomolite, a fossil insect; a petrified insect.
1839–47. Todd, Cycl. Anat., III. 259/2. But in most of the *Entomophagous genera … the canines present a marked inferiority of development.
1880. Gray, Struct. Bot., vi. § 4. 217. Delpino has classified flowers into Anemophilous and *Entomophilous.
1882. G. Allen, in Nature, 17 Aug., 373. Plantago must be descended from an entomophilous ancestor.
1835. Kirby, Hab. & Inst. Anim., II. xiii. 7. I have thought it best to place the Cirripedes immediately before the *Entomostracan Crustaceans.
1847. Proc. Berw. Nat. Club, II. 199. He had added two Entomostracans.
1835–6. Todd, Cycl. Anat., I. 43. Small animals, such as *entomostracous crustacea.
