scorpionfly

or scor·pion fly

[ skawr-pee-uhn-flahy ]

noun,plural scor·pi·on·flies.
  1. any of several harmless insects of the order Mecoptera, the male of certain species having a reproductive structure that resembles the sting of a scorpion.

Origin of scorpionfly

1
First recorded in 1660–70; scorpion + fly1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for scorpion fly

scorpion fly

noun
  1. any of various insects of the family Panorpidae, of the N hemisphere, having a scorpion-like but nonvenomous tail in the males, long antennae, and a beaklike snout: order Mecoptera

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012