damselfly
English
Etymology
From damsel + fly, where damsel ultimately from Vulgar Latin *domnicella (whence also French demoiselle, Portuguese donzelinha). Compare Danish vandnymfe, Dutch juffer, Swedish jungfruslända, Welsh mursen. Also compare ladybird, ladybug, nymph.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdæmzəlflaɪ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
damselfly (plural damselflies)
- Any of various insects of the suborder Zygoptera that have long slender bodies, and are similar to dragonflies but having wings folded when at rest.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
insect
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See also
extant orders of insects in English
- jumping bristletails, archaeognathans (Archaeognatha)
- cockroaches and termites, blattodeans (Blattodea)
- beetles, coleopterans (Coleoptera)
- earwigs, dermapterans (Dermaptera)
- flies, dipterans (Diptera)
- webspinners, embiopterans (Embioptera)
- mayflies, ephemeropterans (Ephemeroptera)
- ice crawlers, grylloblattodeans (Grylloblattodea)
- true bugs, hemipterans (Hemiptera)
- hymenopterans (ants, bees, wasps, etc.) (Hymenoptera)
- butterflies and moths, lepidopterans (Lepidoptera)
- mantises, mantodeans (Mantodea)
- mantophasmids (Mantophasmatodea)
- scorpionflies, mecopterans (Mecoptera)
- megalopterans (alderflies, dobsonflies, fishflies, etc.) (Megaloptera)
- neuropterans (antlions, lacewings, mantisflies, etc.) (Neuroptera)
- damselflies and dragonflies, odonatans (Odonata)
- orthopterans (crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, etc.) (Orthoptera)
- stick insects, phasmatodeans (Phasmatodea)
- stoneflies, plecopterans (Plecoptera)
- booklice, psocodeans (Psocodea)
- snakeflies, raphidiopterans (Raphidioptera)
- fleas, siphonapterans (Siphonaptera)
- strepsipterans (Strepsiptera)
- thrips, thysanopterans (Thysanoptera)
- caddis flies, trichopterans (Trichoptera)
- zorapterans (Zoraptera)
- silverfish, zygentomans (Zygentoma)