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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Parasite \Par"a*site\ (p[a^]r"[.a]*s[imac]t), n. [F., fr. L.
parasitus, Gr. para`sitos, lit., eating beside, or at the
table of, another; para` beside sitei^n to feed, from sitos
wheat, grain, food.]
[1913 Webster]
1. One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at
another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a
hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.
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Thou, with trembling fear,
Or like a fawning parasite, obey'st. --Milton.
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Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would
seek to be free guests at rich men's tables.
--Udall.
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2. (Bot.)
(a) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other
plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices
it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called
epiphyte.
(b) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported
at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus
{Torrubia}.
[1913 Webster]

3. (Zool.)
(a) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its
existence on or in the body of some other animal,
feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice,
tapeworms, etc.
(b) An animal which steals the food of another, as the
parasitic jager.
(c) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another,
as the cowbird and the European cuckoo.
[1913 Webster] Parasitic