Etymograph

English

litterbug

From litter + bug.

Formed from litter + bug

Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’

Latin lectus ‘bed’

English litter

Middle English bugge ‘scarecrow, hobgoblin’

English bug

The story

Coined in 1947 by New York copywriter Paul B.

Today it means

noun A person who tends to drop litter and not clean it up.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / litterbug