ANT

AN'T, in old authors, is a contraction of an it, that is if it. [See An.]ANT, in our vulgar dialect, as in the phrases, I ant you ant he ant we ant etc., is undoubtedly a contraction of the Danish er, ere, the substantive verb in the present tense of the Indicative Mode. These phrases are doubtless legitimate remains of the Gothic dialect.'ANT, noun An emmet; a pismire. Ants constitute a genus of insects of the hymenopteral order, of which the characteristics are; a small scale between the breast and belly, with a joint so deep that the animal appears as if almost cut in two. The females, and the neuter or working ants, which have no sexual characteristics, are furnished with a hidden sting; and both males and females have wings, but the neuters have none. These insects meet together in companies, and maintain a sort of republic. They raise hillocks of earth, in which they live. In these there are paths, leading to the repositories of their provisions. The large black ants, in the warm climates of America, to avoid the effects of great rains, build large nests on trees, of light earth, roundish and plastered smooth.

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A small insect, famous for its industry and economy, for its social habits and skill in building. Some species build habitations truly immense compared with themselves, and able to contain a dozen men. Their roofs are impervious to rain, and they contain numerous stories, galleries, etc., the result of skilful and incessant labor. Ants lavish the utmost care and pains upon their young, both in the egg and the chrysalis state. The termites or white ants are large and very destructive. Most varieties of ants are known to choose animal or saccharine food; and no species has yet been found laying up stores of grain for winter use, for while the frost continues they all lie torpid. The language of Solomon, Pr 6:6, commends them for toiling as soon and as long as the season permits and rewards their labor, and bids us make the same diligent use of life and opportunities, Pr 30:24,25. The inferior animals are in many respects wiser than sinful man, Job 12:7,8.

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Ant. Ant
(Heb. nemalah, from a word meaning to creep, cut off, destroy), referred to in Prov. 6:6; 30:25, as distinguished for its prudent habits. Many ants in Palestine feed on animal substances, but others draw their nourishment partly or exclusively from vegetables. To the latter class belongs the ant to which Solomon refers. This ant gathers the seeds in the season of ripening, and stores them for future use; a habit that has been observed in ants in Texas, India, and Italy.

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ANT. → General scriptures concerning Pr 6:6-8; 30:25

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(Heb. nemalah). This insect is mentioned twice in the Old Testament: in (Proverbs 6:6; 30:25) In the former of these passages the diligence of this insect is instanced by the wise man as an example worthy of imitation; in the second passage the ant’s wisdom is especially alluded to; for these insects "though they be little on the earth, are exceeding wise." (For a long time European commentators and naturalists denied that ants stored up grain for future use, as was asserted in Proverbs but while this is true of most of the 104 European species, two of those species do lay up food, and are called harvesting ants . Like species have been found in Texas and South America, and are known to exist in Palestine. They show many other proofs of their skill. Some of them build wonderful houses; these are often several stories high, sometimes five hundred times the height of the builders, with rooms, corridors, and vaulted roofs supported by pillars. Some species keep a kind of cows; others have a regular army of soldiers; some keep slaves --"No closer imitation of the ways of man could be found in the entire animal economy." (See Encyc. Brit.) McCook’s "The Honey Ants" gives many curious facts about the habits of this peculiar kind of ant, and of the harvesting ants of the American plains.--ED.)

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ant. Ant, n. a small industrious insect, a pismire

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Ant (�), n. [[OE. ante, amete, emete, AS. æmete akin to G. ameise. Cf. Emmet.]] (Zoöl.) A hymenopterous insect of the Linnæan genus Formica, which is now made a family of several genera; an emmet; a pismire. ☞ Among ants, as among bees, there are neuter or working ants, besides the males and females; the former are without wings. Ants live together in swarms, usually raising hillocks of earth, variously chambered within, where they maintain a perfect system of order, store their provisions, and nurture their young. There are many species, with diverse habits, as agricultural ants, carpenter ants, honey ants, foraging ants, amazon ants, etc. The white ants or Termites belong to the Neuroptera. Ant bird (Zoöl.), one of a very extensive group of South American birds (Formicariidæ), which live on ants. The family includes many species, some of which are called ant shrikes, ant thrushes, and ant wrens. — Ant rice (Bot.), a species of grass (Aristida oligantha) cultivated by the agricultural ants of Texas for the sake of its seed.