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A pissant, also seen as piss ant or piss-ant, refers to a specific type of ant. The word is also used as a pejorative noun or adjective, indicating insignificance.〔(Pissant ), Merriam-Webster Dictionary〕 It has its origin in the word ''pismire'', a 14th-century term for ant.〔"1350–1400; ME pissemyre, equiv. to pisse to urinate + obs. mire ant, perh. < Scand (cf. Dan myre, Sw myra), c. D mier; pejorative name from stench of formic acid proper to ants" Dictionary.com〕 The original ''pissant'' is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonly called ''wood ants,'' that make mounded nests in forests throughout most of Europe. The name ''pissant'' arises from the urine-like odour produced by their nesting material—needles and straw from pine trees—and the formic acid that constitutes their venom. ''Formica rufa'' is one such ant, but there are others with similar characteristics. ''Forelius'' and ''Iridomyrmex'' are two genera of piss ants.〔(Kris M. Havstad, ''Structure and Function of a Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem'', Oxford University Press US, 2006, p. 256. )〕 In the United States, the word ''pissant'' can refer to any small ant that infests a home. ==Slang== ''Pissant'' is an epithet for an inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless person, especially one who is irritating or contemptible out of proportion to his or her perceived significance. A Virginia politician is said to have silenced a heckler by saying, "I'm a big dog on a big hunt and I don't have time for a piss-ant on a melon stalk." The term ''piss-ant'' can also be used as an adjective, usually as a pejorative, to mean insignificant and annoying. In conversations with his advisors during the Vietnam War, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson referred to Vietnam as "a piddling piss-ant little country". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pissant」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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