flea

«flea» in Mova's judaism dictionary: A very small jumping insect without wings that lives on… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a flea, fleas)

meaning for a pupil

1) A very small jumping insect without wings that lives on the skin and fur of animals and people and sucks their blood. tree →

2) Flea market: a market where people sell old and second-hand things cheaply. tree →

sense in the lessons

In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: David calls himself a flea to show how small and harmless he is, so that King Saul should not chase him. Interpretation: Tradition reads this as David's humility, and as a way of showing that Saul's pursuit is out of proportion. In the primary lessons: In everyday life fleas are a problem for pet cats and dogs: they make them scratch, and pets need flea treatment. In science fleas are parasites — they live on another animal and harm it; they can jump many times their own length. In history, fleas on rats spread the plague (the Black Death). Phrases: flea collar, flea treatment, flea bite, flea market, a flea in your ear (a scolding, British).

examples

• After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. (Prophets 1SA.24.15, JPS 1917) tree →
• Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.' (Prophets 1SA.26.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• Our dog kept scratching because it had fleas. tree →
• The vet gave the cat flea treatment. tree →
• A flea can jump more than a hundred times its own length. tree →
• We bought old comics at the flea market. tree →
• Flea bites leave small itchy red spots. tree →
• Fleas are parasites that drink blood. tree →
• Long ago, fleas on rats spread a deadly disease called the plague. tree →

note

Homophone trap: «flea» (insect) and «flee» (to run away from danger) sound the same: The fleas fled? No — people flee from fire; fleas live on dogs.

In the corpora

• After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
• Hooke's book Micrographia amazed readers with huge drawings of fleas and lice.
• A vet gives pets flea treatment, and people vacuum carpets and wash pet beds.
• An adult gives the flea and worm treatment the vet suggests, to keep pets and the family free of parasites.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «flea» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.