Editing Termite (section)

==Etymology==
The infraorder name Isoptera is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek words]] ''iso'' (equal) and ''ptera'' (winged), which refers to the nearly equal size of the fore and hind wings.<ref name="Bugsrule">{{cite book|last1=Cranshaw|first1=W.|title=Bugs Rule!: An Introduction to the World of Insects|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn=978-0-691-12495-7|page=188|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_3c0qGP_t0C&q=Etymology+of+termite&pg=PA188|chapter=11}}</ref>{{source needed|reason=There are no Greek words 'iso' and 'ptera'. The correct forms would probably be ἴσος and πτερόν. A better source is therefore needed.|date=March 2025}} "Termite" derives from the [[Latin]] and [[Late Latin]] word ''termes'' ("woodworm, white ant"), altered by the influence of Latin ''terere'' ("to rub, wear, erode") from the earlier word ''tarmes''. A termite nest is also known as a ''termitary'' or ''termitarium'' (plural ''termitaria'' or ''termitariums'').<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lobeck|first1=A. Kohl|title=Geomorphology; an Introduction to the Study of Landscapes|date=1939|publisher=McGraw Hill Book Company, Incorporated|location=University of California|pages=431–432|edition=1st|asin=B002P5O9SC}}</ref> The word was first used in English in 1781.<ref>{{cite web|title=Termite|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/termite?show=0&t=1420442739|publisher=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> Earlier attested designations were "wood ants" or "white ants",<ref name="termitety">{{OEtymD|Termite}}</ref> though these may never have been in wide use as termites do not exist in the [[British Isles]].