tsetse fly

[ tset-see, tet-, tsee-tsee, tee- ]

noun
  1. any of several bloodsucking African flies of the genus Glossina, that act as a vector of sleeping sickness and other trypanosome infections of humans and domestic animals.

Origin of tsetse fly

1
First recorded in 1845–50; from Afrikaans, from Tswana tsêtsê + fly1

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How to use tsetse fly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tsetse fly

tsetse fly

tzetze fly

/ (ˈtsɛtsɪ) /


noun
  1. any of various bloodsucking African dipterous flies of the genus Glossina, which transmit the pathogens of various diseases: family Muscidae

Origin of tsetse fly

1
C19: via Afrikaans from Tswana

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

Scientific definitions for tsetse fly

tsetse fly

[ tsĕt ]


  1. Any of several bloodsucking African flies of the genus Glossina, two species of which (G. palpalis and G. morsitans) often carry and transmit trypanosomes, the protozoans that cause sleeping sickness.

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