The original meaning of “parasite” in English was someone who weasels their way into the retinue of a wealthy and/or powerful person and stays there by constant, shameless flattery. That is, somebody who’s unrelentingly gnathonic.
At this point you might not entirely appreciate that clarification, since “gnathonic” is so obscure that it’s practically unknown. At least until today. But you’re so erudite, clever, and informed that I’m sure you knew about “gnathonic,” so I’m doing nothing but filling in any little random gaps in knowledge. The word comes from Gnatho, a character in the Roman play Eunuchus.
Gnatho was a tremendous flatterer who would say anything at all to please his patron Thraso. What Gnatho got out of the deal was a free lunch; Gnatho was extremely fond of eating. Another interesting thing about Gnatho is that his name is an ancient Roman pun; it’s based on the Greek word “gnathos” (jaw), and Gnatho enthusiastically used his gnathos during both flattery and dinner.
“Gnathonic” hasn’t been used much for the past 150 years or so, possibly because neither Latin nor Roman literature are considered part of a common, everyday education any more. But it is still around; it appears in spelling bees because it’s a bit of a trick; the “g” is completely silent so you have to have seen the word to know how to spell it.
