anting
n.— «The behavior you witnessed, Mona, is called “anting.” I know it seems like it should be called “mothballing,” but anting is much easier to say. Plus, more often than not, birds rub their feathers with ants.…Over 250 different species of birds have been observed rubbing live ants over their feathers.… Birds have also been known to use over 40 other items to rub over their feathers. The list includes beetles, millipedes, lemons, walnuts, cigarette butts, and in some fashionable cities, Old Spice.» —“The anting antics of grackles” Cape Codder (Massachusetts) Aug. 11, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
The term skycap for workers who help with luggage at an airport was coined by analogy with redcap, a term for porters on trains who wore red caps. Skycap was the winning entry in a contest. Another contest, held in 1923, gave us the word scofflaw, a...