Why this word is great
LADYBIRD — [Noun] Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra. From lady (referring to the Virgin Mary, whose cloak was often depicted as red) + bird (an archaic term for beetle), the name carries the weight of medieval piety folded into diminutive form. Compare German Marienkäfer ("Mary beetle"). Unlike "ladybug" (which belongs to the lexicon of American backyards) or "damselfly" (a delicate, unrelated predator of ponds), "ladybird" is a British hedgerow jewel, a speck of polished enamel in the grass. It is the crisp crunch of an apple left too long in the sun, the musty scent of old garden gloves, and the sudden, startling red of a single drop on your fingertip when you lift one from a leaf—a tiny, transient miracle, both sacred and doomed to be crushed underfoot.