(mə-skēˈtō)
noun pl. mos·qui·toes or
mos·qui·tos Any of various two-winged insects of the family Culicidae, in which the female of most species is distinguished by a long proboscis for sucking blood. Some species are vectors of diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Also called regionally
skeeter. See Regional Note at
possum.
Flies will never be popular creatures, in spite or because of their omnipresence. Two examples of the fly's influence on our lives can be found in the etymologies of the words
mosquito and
musket, both of which can be traced back to
musca, the Latin word for fly. This Latin word became
mosca in Spanish and Portuguese, Romance languages that developed from Vulgar Latin.
Mosquito, the diminutive of
mosca, was borrowed into English (first recorded around 1583) with the same sense “mosquito” that it had in Spanish and Portuguese. The Romance language French was the source of our word
musket (first recorded around 1587), which came from French
mousquet, which entered French from yet another Romance language, Italian. From Italian
mosca, another descendant of Latin
musca, was formed the diminutive
moschetta with the senses “bolt for a catapult” and “small artillery piece.” From
moschetta came
moschetto, “musket,” the source of French
mousquet. The use of
moschetta, literally “little fly,” to mean “bolt from a crossbow” can be ascribed to the fact that both bolt and insect fly, buzz, and sting.
