gadfly
Pronunciation: /ˈɡædflaɪ/
The English word “gadfly” has 5 meanings listed here.
noun
- Any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a bot fly) or Tabanidae (horse fly), noted for irritating animals by buzzing about them, and biting them to suck their blood; a gadbee.
- A person or thing that irritates or instigates.
- A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant.
- Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”).
- A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker.
Etymology
From gad (“sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.