Noun: praying mantis
| Singular | praying mantis |
| Plural | praying mantises; praying mantes |
Sample Sentences
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Scientists have discovered that female praying mantises who eat their mates after sex produce a greater number of eggs than those who do not, with the bodies of the ill-fated males used to aid their production. [2016 June 28, Nicola Davis, “Having your partner for dinner? Mantis cannibalism boosts fertility – study”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2017:]
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When the female praying mantis is mating, she does not bite the head off the male with one swift snip: she chomps into it, like an apple. It appears to have the texture of a honeydew melon. [2021 May 27, Helen Sullivan, “A praying mantis: she bites into her mate’s head like an apple and cleans her face ‘like a cat’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2023:]
Nouns inflected like praying mantis
micropenis,
heliopsis,
European mantis,
praying mantis,
penis,
fremesis,
biophotolysis,
renal pelvis,
mantis,
clavis,
acanthopelvis,
pelvis,
Etymology
Mantis from Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis). Named "praying mantis" for their stance, with the forelegs held together in a way that resembles a person praying. Similar designations exist in many European as well as non-European languages. Compare for example French mante religieuse (literally “religious mantis”), German Gottesanbeterin (literally “God-worshipper”), Portuguese louva-a-deus (literally “God-praiser”), Persian آخوندک (âxundak, literally “little cleric”). See: Ancient Greek Nouns '
μάντις', French Nouns '
mante religieuse', German Nouns '
Gottesanbeterin', Portuguese Nouns '
louva-a-deus'.