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dobsonfly

American  
[dob-suhn-flahy] / ˈdɒb sənˌflaɪ /

noun

plural

dobsonflies

  1. a large, soft-bodied insect, Corydalus cornutus, having four distinctly veined membranous wings, biting mouthparts, and, in the male, huge mandibles that jut out from the head.

dobsonfly British  
/ ˈdɒbsənˌflaɪ /

noun

  1. a large North American neuropterous insect, Corydalis cornutus: the male has elongated horn-like mouthparts and the larva (a hellgrammite or dobson) is used as bait by anglers: suborder Megaloptera See also hellgrammite

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dobsonfly

1900–05; after surname Dobson; fly 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.