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dragonfly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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A dragonfly (Libellula depressa)
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From dragon +‎ fly.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈdɹæɡənˌflaɪ/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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dragonfly (plural dragonflies)

  2. An insect of the suborder Epiprocta or, more strictly, the infraorder Anisoptera, having four long transparent wings held perpendicular to a long body when perched.
    There were two dragonflies in the garden today.
    • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum:
      The delicate coloured Dragon Flies may have likewise some Corrosive quality.
    • 1897, Thomas Wright, The Acid Sisters: And Other Poems, page 93:
      The sapphire needled dragonflies
      That flirt with the crested newt!
      And now before his newtly nose, […]
    • 2013 April 1, Natalie Angier, “Nature’s Drone, Pretty and Deadly”, in The New York Times‎[1]:
      Stacey Combes, who studies the biomechanics of dragonfly flight at Harvard, once watched a laboratory dragonfly eat 30 flies in a row.
    • 2016 June 11, Lizette Alvarez, “In a Corner of the Everglades, a Way of Life Ebbs”, in The New York Times‎[2]:
      As the airboat skimmed across the shallow water, scattering blue dragonflies and launching a heron into the air, Keith Price squinted into the sun and relished the isolation of Florida’s unrivaled river of grass.

Synonyms

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Hypernyms

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Translations

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See also

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extant orders of insects in English
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