deerfly
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈdɪrˌflaɪ/
:
mosca de ciervo
- They have about one human brain among them, which might as well be thought of as hovering in the air between their two heads, like a deerfly.
So a gadfly is what we would probably nowadays call a horsefly or a deer deerfly.
- So a gadfly is what we would probably nowadays call a horsefly or a deer deerfly.
Examples
-
James cranks his window down, as if doubt could escape like a trapped deerfly.
Fiction book (1990) -
The only sound that ruptured the silence was the drone of a deerfly around my head, looking to partake of a meal of its own.
Academic text (2009) -
It was hot, and when I slapped at the gnats and deerflies that circled around my face, they stuck to my skin and hair, and I had to pick them loose with my fingers.
Fiction book (1996) -
A deerfly buzzed relentlessly around my head, trying to find a place to bite.
-
While hiking, I felt a sharp sting as a deerfly bit my arm.
-
On summer afternoons, the deerfly often distracts campers with its annoying buzzing.
Synonyms
70
1.0
A small flying insect whose female bites people or animals to drink blood
16
1.3
A very small flying insect that sometimes bites people or animals
5
4.8
An animal that drinks the blood of other animals, like a mosquito
3
5.5
A large fly whose females bite horses and other animals to drink blood
2
6.6
A small insect that bites people in warm places and can spread disease
1
8.0
A small dark fly that bites animals and people to drink their blood
1
9.9
A very small flying insect that makes itchy bites on people and animals
A small biting fly like a deer fly that can bite people and carry disease
A small black fly that bites people and animals, often near water
A small black fly that sucks blood from cows near their horns
A very small flying insect that bites animals and people
Tiny flies that bite people and animals, often near water, and can spread disease
A small sand fly that drinks blood and can spread disease
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Deerfly is simply the two words deer and fly, meaning a 'fly' often found on or near 'deer'. So, a deerfly is a small biting fly that feeds on the blood of deer, other animals, and sometimes people, which explains the name.