pismire

PRONUNCIATION:
(PIS/PIZ-myr)

MEANING:
noun:
1. An ant.
2. An insignificant person.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English pissemire, from pisse (urine) + mire (ant). Earliest documented use: 1395.

NOTES:
Mire of pismire already meant ant. The first part refers to the pungent smell of certain ants and anthills, once likened to urine. Some ant species use formic-acid-rich sprays for defense and nest hygiene.

As if pismire weren’t explicit enough, a Scots and northern variant is pismore, the ant that goes the extra squirt.

Mire is related to Latin formica (ant), the source of formicate (to crawl like ants), and Greek myrmex (ant). Myrmidon (an unquestioning follower) has long been associated with myrmex, though the exact connection is uncertain.

USAGE:
“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, And the pismire is equally perfect …”
Walt Whitman; “Song of Myself”; Leaves of Grass; David McKay; 1891-1892.

“‘The first time I ever went, I went down the sand pit. I was just a little pismire,’ Hendrickson says.”
John Holyoke; 92-Year-Old Skier Still Heeds the Need for Speed; Bangor Daily News (Maine); Jan 17, 2013.