A tiny parasitic insect that lives in hair or on skin, or slang for a despicable person you dislike.
From Old English 'lūs,' related to German 'Laus' and other Germanic languages. The metaphorical use for a contemptible person emerged in the 1800s, comparing humans to the repulsive insect.
Lice have infected humans for millennia—archaeologists have found evidence of them in 10,000-year-old hair samples—making them literally part of human history, which is probably why we use the word as an insult.
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