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gadfly

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gad⋅fly

  [gad-flahy]
–noun, plural -flies.
1. any of various flies, as a stable fly or warble fly, that bite or annoy domestic animals.
2. a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc.
Use gadfly in a Sentence
Origin:
1585–95; gad 2 + fly 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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gad·fly   (gād'flī')   
n.  

  1. A persistent irritating critic; a nuisance.

  2. One that acts as a provocative stimulus; a goad.

  3. Any of various flies, especially of the family Tabanidae, that bite or annoy livestock and other animals.


[gad2 + fly2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gadfly  (n.)
1626, "fly which bites cattle," probably from gad "goad, metal rod" (c.1225), here in the sense of "stinger," from O.N. gaddr "spike, nail," from P.Gmc. *gadaz "pointed stick;" but sense is entangled with gad (v.) and an early meaning of gadfly was also "someone who likes to go about, often stopping here and there." Sense of "one who irritates another" is from 1649 (equivalent of L. oestrus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: gad·fly
Pronunciation: 'gad-"flI
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -flies
: any of various flies (as a horsefly,botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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