Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Parasita \Par`a*si"ta\, n. pl. [NL.] (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) An artificial group formerly made for parasitic insects,
       as lice, ticks, mites, etc.
   (b) A division of copepod Crustacea, having a sucking mouth,
       as the lerneans. They are mostly parasites on fishes.
       Called also {Siphonostomata}.