cantharides

[ kan-thar-i-deez ]
/ kænˈθær ɪˌdiz /

plural noun, singular can·thar·is [kan-thar-is] /kænˈθær ɪs/.

Spanish fly(def 1).
cantharis. Spanish fly(def 2).

Origin of cantharides

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, plural of cantharis < Greek kantharís blister fly

Words nearby cantharides

canterbury bells, canterbury lamb, canterbury pilgrims, canterbury tales, the, cantharid, cantharides, cantharus, canthectomy, canthitis, cantholysis, canthomeatal plane

Definition for cantharides (2 of 2)

Spanish fly

noun

Also called cantharides. a preparation of powdered blister beetles, especially the Spanish fly, used medicinally as a counterirritant, diuretic, and aphrodisiac.
Also Span·ish·fly. Also called cantharis. a common European blister beetle, Cantharis (Lytta) vesicatoria, that yields this preparation.

Origin of Spanish fly

First recorded in 1400–50; so called from the fact that the beetles are found in abundance in Spain

Example sentences from the Web for cantharides

British Dictionary definitions for cantharides (1 of 2)

cantharides
/ (kænˈθærɪˌdiːz) /

pl n singular cantharis (ˈkænθərɪs)

a diuretic and urogenital stimulant or irritant prepared from the dried bodies of Spanish fly (family Meloidae, not Cantharidae), once thought to be an aphrodisiac Also called: Spanish fly

Word Origin for cantharides

C15: from Latin, plural of cantharis, from Greek kantharis Spanish fly

British Dictionary definitions for cantharides (2 of 2)

Spanish fly

noun

a European blister beetle, Lytta vesicatoria (family Meloidae), the dried bodies of which yield the pharmaceutical product cantharides
another name for cantharides