how did earwigs get their name?

Question

they dont actually burrow into your brain and lay eggs, right? so where did the name come from?

Answer 1

Earwig comes from Old English "ēarwicga" from "ēare" meaning "ear" and "wicga" which is related to "wiggle". This predates the use of wigs by some hundreds of years. The name stayed through Middle English and we still have it.

The idea that earwigs would get into your ear is as old as the word itself because its name indicates the insect wiggling in your ear. Perhaps when people slept on the ground and earwigs were looking for a sheltered spot for the day, a few did crawl into people's ears. They would not, however, burrow into the brain and lay eggs. This is a more modern myth.

Answer 2

they got their names because people used to wear wigs, right? they would leave them outside every night and earwigs would crawl into them. Every morning the people would have to shake the earwigs out of their wigs. That's how they got their names.

Answer 3

I don't know, but as one earwig said to another "er wi g o"