Main Entry:

cu·lex

Pronunciation:

\ˈkyü-ˌleks\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

New Latin, from Latin, gnat; akin to Old Irish cuil fly

Date:

15th century

: any of a large cosmopolitan genus (Culex) of mosquitoes that includes the common house mosquito (C. pipiens) of Europe and North America and vectors of the viruses causing Saint Louis encephalitis and West Nile fever