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 spanish fly
In India also a species of Meloe is used,194 possessing all the properties of the Spanish-fly.
In cases where the growth of horn seems too slow a Spanish-fly blister applied to the heels is often followed by good results.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse |United States Department of Agriculture
British Dictionary definitions for spanish fly
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