Main Entry: mos·qui·to

Pronunciation: \mə-ˈskē-(ˌ)tō\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural mos·qui·toes also mos·qui·tos

Etymology: Spanish, diminutive of mosca fly, from Latin musca — more at midge

Date: circa 1583

: any of a family (Culicidae) of dipteran flies with females that have a set of slender organs in the proboscis adapted to puncture the skin of animals and to suck their blood and that are in some cases vectors of serious diseases

— mos·qui·to·ey \-ˈskē-tə-wē\ adjective

[mosquito illustration]