bots

bots [bots] ExamplesWord Origin noun (used with a plural verb) Veterinary Pathology.

1. a disease affecting various mammals, especially horses, caused by the attachment of the parasitic larvae of botflies to the stomach of the host.

Origin of bots 1780–90; plural of bot2; see -s3 bot 1[bot] noun

1. a device or piece of software that can execute commands, reply to messages, or perform routine tasks, as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention (often used in combination): intelligent infobots; shopping bots that help consumers find the best prices.

Origin of bot 11985–90; shortening of robot bot 2or bott [bot] noun

1. the larva of a botfly.

Origin of bot 2 1425–75; late Middle English; akin to Dutch bot, Frisian dialect botten (plural); further origin obscure bot 3[bot] noun Australian Slang.

1. a person who cadges; scrounger.

Origin of bot 3First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps shortening of botfly Examples from the Web for bots Historical Examples of bots

Many other species of animals are infested with their own particular species of bots.

Insects and Diseases

Rennie W. Doane

One of Orson Pratt’s horses is very sick, supposed to be the bots.

William Clayton’s Journal

William Clayton

The most important of these are bots and other larv or maggots of various flies (Diptera).

Parasites

T. Spencer Cobbold

Hopes list records five cases of bots of strus hominus, one of .

Parasites

T. Spencer Cobbold

Fig. 46, taken from a drawing in Raumur’s Memoirs, represents the bots of which we speak.

The Insect World

Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for bots bots noun

1. (functioning as singular) a digestive disease of horses and some other animals caused by the presence of botfly larvae in the stomach

BOT abbreviation for

1. Board of Trade

bot 1bott noun

1. the larva of a botfly, which typically develops inside the body of a horse, sheep, or man
2. any similar larva
3. NZ informal a mild illness in humans

See also bots Word Origin for bot C15: probably from Low German; related to Dutch bot, of obscure origin bot 2 verb

1. to scrounge or borrow
2. (intr often foll by on) to scrounge (from); impose (on)

noun

3. a scrounger
4. on the bot wanting to scroungehe’s on the bot for a cigarette

Word Origin for bot C20: perhaps from botfly, alluding to the creature’s bite; see bite (sense 12) bot 3 noun

1. computing an autonomous computer program that performs time-consuming tasks, esp on the internet

Word Origin for bot C20: from (ro) bot Word Origin and History for bots bot n.

in Internet sense, c.2000, short for robot. Its modern use has curious affinities with earlier uses, e.g. “parasitical worm or maggot” (1520s), of unknown origin; and Australian-New Zealand slang “worthless, troublesome person” (World War I-era). The method of minting new slang by clipping the heads off words does not seem to be old or widespread in English. Examples (za from pizza, zels from pretzels, rents from parents) are American English student or teen slang and seem to date back no further than late 1960s.

bots in Medicine bot [bŏt] n.

1. The parasitic larva of a botfly.
2. bots A disease of mammals, especially cattle and horses, caused by infestation of the stomach or intestines with botfly larvae.

bots in Science bot [bŏt]

1. A software program that imitates the behavior of a human, as by querying search engines or participating in chatroom discussions.