---
title: parasite — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «parasite» in the school dictionary: A parasite is a living thing that lives on or inside another living thing and takes its food from it, often harming it: fleas, lice, ticks and tapeworms are parasites. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# parasite

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** parasite, living thing, fleas, person, flea, tiny parasite · **What happens:** be, live on, take, harm, live off, give back · **To what, where:** living thing, food, parasite, parasites, other people, nothing · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«parasite» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [parasite in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/parasite.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A parasite is a living thing that lives on or inside another living thing and takes its food from it, often harming it: fleas, lice, ticks and tapeworms are parasites.

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:m1:1
# text = A parasite is a living thing that lives on or inside another living thing and takes its food from it, often harming it: fleas, lice, ticks and tapeworms are parasites.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	parasite	parasite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	living	living	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
11	inside	inside	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	14	det	_	_
13	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
17	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
19	from	from	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
22	often	often	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	harming	harm	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
24	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	26	punct	_	_
26	fleas	flea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	34	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
28	lice	louse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	30	punct	_	_
30	ticks	tick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	tapeworms	tapeworm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	_
33	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	34	cop	_	_
34	parasites	parasite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a parasite | a living thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live on** | present | a living thing |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **take** | present | a living thing *not said here* | parasite's food |  | parasite |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent food=Theme from it=Initial\_Location |
| 4 | **harm** | gerund | a living thing *not said here* | parasite |  |  |  | often *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus it=Experiencer |
| 5 | **is a** | present | fleas and lice and ticks and tapeworms | parasites |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who lives off other people and gives nothing back is called a parasite (an unkind word).

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:m2:1
# text = A person who lives off other people and gives nothing back is called a parasite (an unkind word).
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	off	off	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
10	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	9	obj	_	_
11	back	back	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	parasite	parasite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	xcomp	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live off** | present | a person | other people |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **give back** | present | a person *not said here* | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Theme |
| 3 | **call** | present · passive |  | a person |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A flea is a tiny parasite that lives on dogs and cats.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x1:1
# text = A flea is a tiny parasite that lives on dogs and cats.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	flea	flea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	parasite	parasite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a flea | a tiny parasite |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | a tiny parasite |  |  |  |  | on dogs and cats | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on dog=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ticks are parasites that suck blood.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x2:1
# text = Ticks are parasites that suck blood.
1	Ticks	tick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	parasites	parasite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	suck	suck	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	blood	blood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Ticks | parasites |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **suck** | present | parasites | blood |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent blood=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The vet gave our puppy medicine against parasites.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x3:1
# text = The vet gave our puppy medicine against parasites.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	vet	vet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	puppy	puppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	against	against	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	parasites	parasite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the vet | our puppy medicine |  |  |  | against parasites | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent medicine=Theme |
| 2 | **medicine** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom medicine «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Head lice are parasites that live in hair.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x4:1
# text = Head lice are parasites that live in hair.
1	Head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	lice	louse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	parasites	parasite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Head lice | parasites |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | parasites |  |  | hair |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in hair=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mistletoe is a plant parasite that grows on trees.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x5:1
# text = Mistletoe is a plant parasite that grows on trees.
1	Mistletoe	Mistletoe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	parasite	parasite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	grows	grow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Mistletoe | a plant parasite |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | present | a plant parasite |  |  | trees |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on tree=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some parasites live inside the stomach of animals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x6:1
# text = Some parasites live inside the stomach of animals.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	parasites	parasite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	inside	inside	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	stomach	stomach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | some parasites |  |  | the stomach of animals |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme inside stomach=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story the lazy cousin was called a parasite because he never helped.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:parasite:x7:1
# text = In the story the lazy cousin was called a parasite because he never helped.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	lazy	lazy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	parasite	parasite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	xcomp	_	_
11	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
13	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past · passive |  | the lazy cousin |  | the story |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |
| 2 | **not** **help** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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