Definition of "cicada" [ci•ca•da]

• Any of various insects of the family Cicadidae, having a broad head, membranous wings, and in the male a pair of resonating organs that produce a characteristic high-pitched, droning sound. Also called cicala. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha."
• "They were all back there — Liat and Maati and Kirath and Tuui and Epani who everyone called the cicada behind his back."
• "He called a cicada to his finger and said, Welcome, Sister Cicada."