Mossies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small flying insects known for biting, especially mosquitoes; informal term for these pests commonly found near water sources; creatures causing itching through their bites
2. Informal reference to tiny bloodsucking insects that buzz around humans; casual name for mosquitoes that can transmit diseases; insects often considered nuisances in warm, humid environments
3. Colloquial expression for biting insects, particularly mosquitoes; diminutive term used to describe these small, winged pests; creatures responsible for itchy red marks after feeding on blood

Etymology: "Mossies" is the plural of "mossie", an informal name for mosquitoes and similar biting flies, especially those found near water. The surprise is that the word is not a shortening of "mosquito" in English but a South African coinage. It comes from Afrikaans, where "mossie" originally meant a sparrow, borrowed from Dutch "mus". The sparrow sense came first, and the biting insects were later given the name by analogy. The insect sense is a diminutive formed from "mosquito", a word that came into English from Spanish and Portuguese "mosquito", meaning "little fly". Dutch has a comparable form, "meuzie", meaning mosquito, so the same pattern of naming small biters after tiny birds or flies runs across the two languages.

Synonyms: mosquitoes, gnats