Word Meaning

Meaning of elater

- One who, or that which, elates.
- An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts.
- Any beetle of the family Elateridae, having the habit, when laid on the back, of giving a sudden upward spring, by a quick movement of the articulation between the abdomen and thorax; -- called also click beetle, spring beetle, and snapping beetle.
- The caudal spring used by Podura and related insects for leaping. See Collembola.
- The active principle of elaterium, being found in the juice of the wild or squirting cucumber (Ecballium agreste, formerly Motordica Elaterium) and other related species. It is extracted as a bitter, white, crystalline substance, which is a violent purgative.