Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WASP, n. [Sax. wæsp or wæps; D. wesp; G. wespe; L. vespa; Fr. guèpe; Sp. avispa; Port. bespa.]

In entomology, a genus of insects, Vespa, of the order of Hymenopters. The mouth is horny; the upper wings plicated; the abdomen joined to the thorax by a thread-like pedicle, and the sting concealed. Wasps construct combs, and rear their young in the cells. The sting is painful. – Cyc.