1. moth — A moth or moth-larva, a small insect whose larvae consume fabric and organic material; used figuratively of the slow, insidious destruction wrought by God or by the passage of time (Job 4:19, 13:28, 27:18, Hos 5:12, Isa 50:9, 51:8, Psa 39:12). Multilingual evidence consistently identifies this as moth: eng 'moth/the moth/like a moth,' spa 'polilla/como polilla,' hin 'kiiraa/patange/ke jaise kiire,' arb 'uthth/suus/ka-l-uthth,' kor 'jom-i/jom/jwa-gati,' swa 'nondo/kama nondo.' The prepositional and article-prefixed forms represent syntactic variation (comparison 'like a moth'), not a distinct meaning. 7×
AR["السُّوسُ","العُثَّةِ","سُوسٌ","عُثٌّ","كَ-العُثِّ","كَالعُثَّةِ"]·ben["পতঙ্গের","পোকা","পোকার-মতো","পোকার-মতো-","যেমন-পতঙ্গ"]·DE["[כעש]","[עש]","wie-ein-Motte"]·EN["a-moth","as-moth","like-a-moth","like-moth","moth","the-moth"]·FR["[עש]","chevreuil","comme-teigne","mite"]·heb["כ-עש","עש"]·HI["कीट-की-तरह","कीड़ा","कीड़े-जैसा","के-जैसे-कीड़े","पतंगे"]·ID["ngengat","seperti-ngengat"]·IT["[כעש]","[עש]","come-il-as-moth","moth","un-moth"]·jav["kados-renget","kadosdene-lawa","renget"]·KO["-좀벌레-같이","같으니라-좀에","나방","좀","좀이","좌-같이"]·PT["como-traça","traça"]·RU["как-моль","моли","моль","молью"]·ES["como-polilla","polilla"]·SW["kama-nondo","nondo"]·TR["guve","güve","güve-gibi","güvenin"]·urd["جیسے-کیڑا","پتنگے","کیڑا","کیڑے-کی-طرح"]
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. עָשׁ n.m.Is 50:9 moth (as waster, consumer);—ע׳ abs., Ho 5:12 (‖ רָקָב), Is 50:9; 51:8; in sim. ψ 39:12; כְּבֶגֶד אֲכָלוֹ עָשׁ Jb 13:28; symbol of fragility Jb 4:19.—27:18 read prob. עַכָּבִישׁ q.v.