pierid

US: (pī er′id, pī′ər-)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

pi•er•id  (pī er′id, pī′ər-), adj. 

1. Insects belonging or pertaining to the Pieridae, a family of butterflies comprising the whites, sulfurs, etc.

n. 

Also called pi•er•i•dine  (pī er′i dīn′, -din). any member of the butterfly family Pieridae.
• Greek Pīerís, singular of Pīerídes a name for the Muses; see Pierides) + -idae -id²
• Neo-Latin Pieridae, apparently by haplology from *Pierididae, equivalent. to Pierid-, stem of Pieris a genus (
• 1880–85