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Pismire

The word for an ant, from urine and mire

A pismire is an ant, or by extension an insignificant, easily-dismissed person. The word comes from Middle English pissemirepisse, urine, plus mire, ant — because anthills of certain ant species carry a distinct, sour reek that gave rise to the name. The Scots dialect variant, pismore, survives in the same sense today.

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