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.

Compare culex.

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

Related formsa·noph·e·line

[uh-nof-uh-lahyn, -lin] /əˈnɒf əˌlaɪn, -lɪn/, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anopheles

Contemporary Examples of anopheles

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

Historical Examples of anopheles

The Anopheles is more common in the country, while the Culex is a city pest.
The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI)
Various
The other division of malaria-hunters pursued the trail of the Anopheles to her lair.
Preventable Diseases
Woods Hutchinson
Usually it can be definitely shown that no Anopheles occur there.
Insects and Diseases
Rennie W. Doane
On the other hand, the Fiji Islands have Anopheles but no malaria.
Insects and Diseases
Rennie W. Doane
Other mosquitoes may be there in abundance, but if no Anopheles, there is no malaria.
Insects and Diseases
Rennie W. Doane

British Dictionary definitions for anopheles

anopheles

noun plural -les

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

Word Origin for 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

Word Origin and History for anopheles

Anopheles

genus of mosquitoes, Modern Latin, coined 1818 by German entomologist Johann Wilhelm Meigen (1764-1845) from Greek anopheles "useless, hurtful, harmful," from an-, privative prefix, (see an- (1)) + ophelos "use, help, advantage" (see Ophelia). So called because it conveys malaria.

anopheles in Medicine

Anopheles

[ə-nŏf′ə-lēz′]

n.

A genus of mosquitoes containing over 90 species, many of which are vectors of malaria.

Related formsa•noph•e•line (-līn′) adj.