Louses, properly

noun

1. Any of various small wingless usually flattened insects (orders Anoplura and Mallophaga) parasitic on warm-blooded animals
2. A small usually sluggish arthropod (such as a biting louse) that lives on other animals or on plants and sucks their blood or juices
3. Any of several small arthropods (such as a book louse) that are not parasitic
4. A contemptible person heel

   "what a beast, what a cad, what a louse he had been"

noun

1. Any of various plants (as of the genera Hackelia and Cynoglossum of the borage family) with prickly or adhesive fruits

noun

1. Biting louse

noun

1. Any of numerous wingless insects (order Mallophaga) that are parasitic especially on birds

noun

1. A louse feeding primarily on the body

noun

1. Any of various tiny usually wingless insects (order Psocoptera and especially genus Liposcelis) that feed on organic matter and especially mold, usually inhabit damp areas, and are often found in stored papers, books, and grains

noun

1. A sucking louse (Pthirus pubis) infesting the pubic region of the human body

noun

1. A sucking louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) that lives on the human scalp

noun

1. Any of numerous plant lice (family Psyllidae) with the femurs thickened and adapted for leaping