horsefly

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horsefly

/ˈhoɹsˌflaɪ/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English horse fliȝe, equivalent to horse + fly.

noun horseflies · horse-fly · horse fly

Any of several medium to large flies, of the family Tabanidae, that suck the blood of mammals (not to be confused with Stomoxys calcitrans, the stable fly, or dog fly). It was not a horsefly and it was not a deerfly; it was bigger than either.
Similar: cleg, breezefly, gadfly, stoat-fly, stout

Translations

Every language

noun fly of the family Tabanidae

Español	tábano, tabánido
한국어	등에 deung'e
日本語	虻 abu
中文	虻 méng, 馬蠅 /马蝇 mǎying
Kiswahili	pange
Português	moscardo, tavão, mutuca
Français	taon
Deutsch	Bremse
Italiano	tafano
Ελληνικά	αλογόμυγα alogómyga
Română	tăun
Русский	сле́пень slépenʹ
العربية	نُعَرَة nuʕara
עברית	זְבוּב הַסּוּס zvuv hasus

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MLA

"horsefly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/horsefly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

horsefly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/horsefly

Chicago

"horsefly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/horsefly.

BibTeX

@misc{horsefly_2026,
  title = {horsefly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/horsefly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}