katydid Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun large green long-horned grasshopper of North America; males produce shrill sounds by rubbing together special organs on the forewings

WordNet

Ka"ty*did` noun
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A large, green, arboreal, orthopterous insect (Cyrtophyllus concavus) of the family Locustidæ, 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.

Webster 1913