elater > define

noun

• Any of various widely distributed beetles.
  • synonyms: elaterid beetle, elaterid

• (n.) 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.
• (n.) 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.
• (n.) One who or that which, elates.
• (n.) The caudal spring used by Podura and related insects for leaping. See Collembola.
• (n.) An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts.