1. (n.) One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.

2. (n.) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte.

3. (n.) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus Torrubia.

4. (n.) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc.

5. (n.) An animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic jager.

6. (n.) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the cowbird and the European cuckoo.

adherent algae appendage attendance attendant autophyte barnacle bean beat bedbug beggar bloodsucker body of retainers bracken brown algae buff bummer cadger cat flea cavaliere servente chigoe climber cockroach cohort conferva confervoid cortege coupon clippers court courtier crab creeper dangler deadbeat dependent diatom disciple dog flea drone entourage fan fern flea flunky follower following freeloader fruits and vegetables fucus fungus grapevine grayback green algae gulfweed hanger-on henchman herb heterophyte homme de cour hyena idle rich idler ivy jackal jigger kelp laze leech legume leisure class lentil liana lichen liverwort lounge lizard louse lumpen proletariat mendicant mite mold moocher mosquito moss mushroom nit nonworker panhandler parasitic plant parasitize partisan pea perthophyte phytoplankton planktonic algae plant families public puffball pulse pursuer pursuivant red algae red bug rentiers retinue roach rockweed rout rust sand flea saprophyte sargasso sargassum satellite scrounge scrounger sea lentil sea moss sea wrack seaweed sectary shadow smell-feast smut spiv sponge sponger stooge successor succulent sucker suite supporter tagtail tail the unemployable the unemployed tick toadstool train trainbearer vermin vetch vine votary ward heeler weevil wood tick wort wrack