Bug

Bug Bug (b[u^]g), n. [OE. bugge, fr. W. bwg, bwgan, hobgoblin, scarecrow, bugbear. Cf. {Bogey}, {Boggle}.] 1. A bugbear; anything which terrifies. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with I seek. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zo["o]l.) A general name applied to various insects belonging to the Hemiptera; as, the squash bug; the chinch bug, etc. [1913 Webster]

3. (Zo["o]l.) An insect of the genus {Cimex}, especially the bedbug ({Cimex lectularius}). See {Bedbug}. [1913 Webster]

4. (Zo["o]l.) One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle. [1913 Webster]

5. (Zo["o]l.) One of certain kinds of Crustacea; as, the sow bug; pill bug; bait bug; salve bug, etc. [1913 Webster]

Note: According to popular usage in England and among housekeepers in America around 1900, bug, when not joined with some qualifying word, was used specifically for {bedbug}. As a general term it is now used very loosely in America as a colloquial term to mean any small crawling thing, such as an insect or arachnid, and was formerly used still more loosely in England. ``God's rare workmanship in the ant, the poorest bug that creeps.'' --Rogers (--Naaman). ``This bug with gilded wings.'' --Pope. [1913 Webster +PJC]

6. (Computers) An error in the coding of a computer program, especially one causing the program to malfunction or fail. See, for example, {year 2000 bug}. ``That's not a bug, it's a feature!'' [PJC]

7. Any unexpected defect or flaw, such as in a machine or a plan. [PJC]

8. A hidden electronic listening device, used to hear or record conversations surreptitiously. [PJC]

9. An infectious microorganism; a germ[4]. [Colloq.] [PJC]

10. An undiagnosed illness, usually mild, believed to be caused by an infectious organism. [Colloq.]

Note: In some communities in the 1990's, the incidence of AIDS is high and AIDS is referred to colloquially as ``the bug''. [PJC]

11. An enthusiast; -- used mostly in combination, as a camera bug. [Colloq.] [PJC]

{Bait bug}. See under {Bait}.

{Bug word}, swaggering or threatening language. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl. [1913 Webster]