\Par"a*site\, n. [F., fr. L. parasitus, Gr. ?, lit.,
eating beside, or at the table of, another; ? beside + ? to
feed, from ? wheat, grain, food.]
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.
         Thou, with trembling fear, Or like a fawning
         parasite, obey'st.                    --Milton.
         Parasites were called such smell-feasts as would
         seek to be free guests at rich men's tables.
                                               --Udall.
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}.
3. (Zo["o]l.)
   (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.