Katydid

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Katydid \Ka"ty*did`\, n. (Zool.)
     A large, green, arboreal, orthopterous insect ({Cyrtophyllus
     concavus}) of the family {Locustid[ae]}, common in the United
     States. The males have stridulating organs at the bases of
     the front wings. During the summer and autumn, in the
     evening, the males make a peculiar, loud, shrill sound,


     resembling the combination Katy-did, whence the name.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  katydid
       n : large green long-horned grasshopper of North America; males
           produce shrill sounds by rubbing together special organs
           on the forewings