Drakefly

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An insect, such as a mayfly or dragonfly, that anglers imitate with artificial lures to catch fish
2. A flying insect, like a mayfly or dragonfly, whose form is copied in fishing flies to attract trout
3. Any of several winged insects, including the mayfly and dragonfly, that serve as models for angling flies

Etymology: The word "drakefly" is a compound of "drake", an old English word meaning "dragon", and "fly". Its name draws on the same image as "dragonfly", a close relative formed from the same pieces in a different way. Both words describe the insect as a small dragon of the air, and "drakefly" is what the other word looks like when the older term for dragon is used. Because "drake" and "dragon" share a root, the two words are doublets: separate words in English that come from the same source. Where "dragonfly" borrows the Latin-derived form of "dragon", "drakefly" keeps the older native shape, so the compound is a kind of older variant of the familiar insect name.