cleg

9.9

A large fly like a horsefly that bites animals and drinks their blood

noun
/klɛg/

Archaic

: tábano

She was bitten by a cleg while hiking through the marshland.

Examples

Farmers often complain about clegs bothering their horses and cows.
I saw a cleg buzzing around the barn.
In the summer, the woods were filled with clegs buzzing around the cattle.
Look out for that cleg near the water trough!
Farmers often complain about clegs bothering their horses and cows.
In the summer, the woods were filled with clegs buzzing around the cattle.
She was bitten by a cleg while hiking through the marshland.

Synonyms

clegg

vscleg

Archaic

3 9.9

A large fly that bites animals and people to drink their blood

has identical meaning but is an alternative spelling or form

horsefly

vscleg

3 5.5

A large fly whose females bite horses and other animals to drink blood

is a general term for large swift bloodsucking flies beyond that species

Surface Forms

cleg singular

clegs plural

Etymology

Cleg comes from an old northern word for a large, biting fly, especially the horsefly, so you can picture a big fly that 'sucks' blood from horses and cows. That's why cleg still means a large, blood-feeding fly that bothers animals.