Emily Dickinson Lexicon

ICH-NEU'MON, n. [L. from the Gr. ιχνευμων, from ιχνευω, to follow the steps, ιχνος, a footstep; a follower of the crocodile.]

An animal of the genus Viverra, or Mangusta. Its body is dotted equally all over; dirty yellow and slate color, each hair being annulated alternately with these tints; paws and muzzle black; tail long and terminated by a diverging tuft. Inhabits Egypt. It feeds on the eggs of the crocodile, mice, and all sorts of small animals. It is domesticated. Its native name is Nems. Ichneumon-fly, a genus of flies, of the order of hymenopteras containing several thousand species. The abdomen is generally petiolated, or joined to the body by a pedicle. These animals are great destroyers of caterpillars, plant-lice and other insects, as the ichneumon is of the eggs and young the crocodile. Encyc.