anopheles

[ uh-nof-uh-leez ]

noun,plural a·noph·e·les.

any mosquito of the genus Anopheles, certain species of which are vectors of the parasite causing malaria in humans, distinguished from other mosquitoes by the absence of breathing tubes in the larvae and by the head-downward stance of the adult while resting or feeding.

Origin of anopheles

1895–1900; <New Latin <Greek anōphelḗs useless, hurtful, harmful, equivalent to an-an-¹ + -ōpheles- variant stem of óphelos profit; earlier (a)n- (with vowel lengthening) + opheles-, written in Mycenaean Greek as nopere

Other words from anopheles

a·noph·e·line [uh-nof-uh-lahyn, -lin], /əˈnɒf əˌlaɪn, -lɪn/, adjective, noun

Compare culex.

Words Nearby anopheles

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anopheles in a sentence

anopheles mosquitoes, though, sit with their bottoms sticking up in the air.
If mosquitoes vanished, would we miss them? Vampire spiders might | Tina Hesman Saey | November 17, 2022 | Science News For Students
He’s referring to anopheles mosquitoes, a main malaria spreader in Africa.
Who decides whether to use gene drives against malaria-carrying mosquitoes? | Tina Hesman Saey | June 3, 2022 | Science News
It’s the world’s first vaccine for the deadly disease, which is spread to people through the bites of female anopheles mosquitoes infected with the Plasmodium parasite.
The new malaria vaccine might not be perfect, but it will save countless lives | Adam Piore | February 23, 2022 | MIT Technology Review
In contrast, it took nearly five hours for the original spray to knock out half of exposed anopheles — about 12 times as long.
Heating deltamethrin may help it kill pesticide-resistant mosquitoes | Maria Temming | October 19, 2020 | Science News
In contrast to the veteran anopheles, the Aedes mosquito did not arrive until the 1980s.
Chikungunya: The Mosquito-Borne Virus That Contorts Your Limbs | Kent Sepkowitz | March 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

The sexual cycle can take place only within the body of one genus of mosquito, anopheles.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
A bite from an anopheles mosquito does not cause malaria unless the particular mosquito has previously bitten a malaria patient.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin Malley
The stegomyia flies and bites in the early afternoon and again at night, the anopheles flies and bites after sunset.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin Malley
The chief danger of infection is at night (the anopheles bite mostly at this time).
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.) | Grant Hague
The draining of the fens has driven the anopheles mosquito from England, and our countrymen no longer suffer from 'ague.'
Outspoken Essays | William Ralph Inge

British Dictionary definitions for anopheles

anopheles

/ (əˈnɒfɪˌliːz) /

nounplural -les

any of various mosquitoes constituting the genus Anopheles, some species of which transmit the malaria parasite to man

Origin of anopheles

C19: via New Latin from Greek anōphelēs useless, from an- + ōphelein to help, from ophelos help

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

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