Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to earwig
Participle: earwigged
Gerund: earwigging
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | earwig |
| you | earwig |
| he;she;it | earwigs |
| we | earwig |
| you | earwig |
| they | earwig |
Perfect
| I | have earwigged |
| you | have earwigged |
| he;she;it | has earwigged |
| we | have earwigged |
| you | have earwigged |
| they | have earwigged |
Past
| I | earwigged |
| you | earwigged |
| he;she;it | earwigged |
| we | earwigged |
| you | earwigged |
| they | earwigged |
Pluperfect
| I | had earwigged |
| you | had earwigged |
| he;she;it | had earwigged |
| we | had earwigged |
| you | had earwigged |
| they | had earwigged |
Future
| I | will earwig |
| you | will earwig |
| he;she;it | will earwig |
| we | will earwig |
| you | will earwig |
| they | will earwig |
Future Perfect
| I | will have earwigged |
| you | will have earwigged |
| he;she;it | will have earwigged |
| we | will have earwigged |
| you | will have earwigged |
| they | will have earwigged |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | earwig |
| you | earwig |
| he;she;it | earwig |
| we | earwig |
| you | earwig |
| they | earwig |
Perfect
| I | have earwigged |
| you | have earwigged |
| he;she;it | have earwigged |
| we | have earwigged |
| you | have earwigged |
| they | have earwigged |
Imperfect
| I | earwigged |
| you | earwigged |
| he;she;it | earwigged |
| we | earwigged |
| you | earwigged |
| they | earwigged |
Pluperfect
| I | had earwigged |
| you | had earwigged |
| he;she;it | had earwigged |
| we | had earwigged |
| you | had earwigged |
| they | had earwigged |
Conditional
Present
| I | would earwig |
| you | would earwig |
| he;she;it | would earwig |
| we | would earwig |
| you | would earwig |
| they | would earwig |
Perfect
| I | would have earwigged |
| you | would have earwigged |
| he;she;it | would have earwigged |
| we | would have earwigged |
| you | would have earwigged |
| they | would have earwigged |
Imperative
| you | earwig |
| we | Let's earwig |
| you | earwig |
Verbs conjugated like 'earwig'
abet,
abhor,
abut,
acquit,
admit,
affrap,
allot,
alum,
amel,
amit,
anagram,
anvil,
apparel,
aret,
arret,
assot,
astun,
attrap,
augur,
avel, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'earwig'
eartip,
bearhug,
bewig,
derig,
ear,
ear-tag,
earn,
earplug,
earth,
enring,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. From Middle English erwigge, from Old English ēarwicga, from ēare (“ear”) + wicga (“insect”), so named from the appearance of the hindwings, which are unique in their resemblance to human ears when unfolded.
2. Compare typologically Dutch oorworm, German Ohrwurm, Danish ørentvist; French perce-oreille, Romanian urechelniță; Russian уховёртка (uxovjórtka), Serbo-Croatian uholaža, Slovak ucholak; Lithuanian auslinda (all are cognates via Proto-Indo-European *h₂ows-). Also compare Mongolian чихүүр хорхой (čixüür xorxoj) (<+ чих (čix)), Turkish kulağakaçan (<+ kulak). See: Romanian '
urechelniță'.
Sample Sentences
-
In the interim, rest assured that Mr. Atherstone is by no means your friend, for he was perpetually earwigging poor Sir Rowland. [1831 November, Edward Lancaster, “Appearances”, in The Ladies′ Museum, page 202:]
-
The hon. gentleman Mr. Reynolds had expressed his fears that the Government would allow themselves to be earwigged out of the money. [1866 February 23, South Australian Parliament, Debates in the Houses of Legislature: September 29 1865-March 16 1866, page 1127:]
-
He had heard nothing from Fin, or anyone else, since the angry exchange the other night and was worried about how things were going, but he couldn′t ask about the LeMotts, not with Mum earwigging. [2007, Russell K. Lewis, In a Moment...: Book One of the Ley of the Land, page 381:]
-
The nameless earwigging writer scrawled in his notebook that “MS and CT also considered that such low life would have a greater pride and satisfaction in life if they could themselves be cooked and served still bleating to rich diners.″ [2007, Cat Rambo, Jeff VanderMeer, The Strange Case of the Lovecraft Café: The Surgeon′s Tale and Other Stories, page 89:]
-
This man turned up on the last train, wanting a room, and his name had been odd enough to stay in the children′s minds as they earwigged—not something you ever do, Jonty. [2010, Charlie Cochrane, Lessons in Seduction, page 100:]
-
We are meeting at a friendly, higher-end Shanghai brunching spot beloved of expats—cramped and informal enough that one of the three bankers at the next table is cheerfully earwigging our conversation. [2017 December 1, Leo Lewis, “Eric Cantona on seagulls, fixing Man Utd and why you can't buy passion”, in Financial Times:]