Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
muscifuge. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
muscifuge, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
muscifuge in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
muscifuge you have here. The definition of the word
muscifuge will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
muscifuge, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Latin musca (“fly”) + -fuge (“repellent”), compare medieval Latin muscifugium, a fly fan.
Noun
muscifuge (plural not attested)
- (rare) Something which repels or kills flies, typically a plant; a fly repellent. Also spelled "muscafuge" (1844) by Henry Stephens, who claimed to have coined it.[1]
- 1882, anonymous, The Pharmacist and Chemist, Volumes 15-16, C.E. Southard, page 228:
- Pharmacists who are plagued with flies in hot weather will be glad to learn that, according to the Moniteur des Produits Chimiques, the Ricinus sanguinis, a common ornamental foliage plant and own brother to the Ricinus communis, is an effectual muscifuge.
1897, anonymous author, The Dublin Journal of Medical Science, volume 103, Fannin & Company, page 186:A Muscifuge... the sweet odour emanated seems very offensive to the ordinary house fly.
References
- ^ Henry Stephens (1844) The Book of the Farm, volume 3, Edinburgh and London: Blackwood and Sons, page 900