anopheles

[ uh-nof-uh-leez ]

/ əˈnɒf əˌliz /

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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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM anopheles

a·noph·e·line

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

Words nearby anopheles

anonym, anonymity, anonymize, anonymous, anonymously, anopheles, anophthalmia, anopia, anopisthograph, anoplasty, anorak

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use anopheles in a sentence

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|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) /

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

Medical definitions for anopheles

Anopheles

[ ə-nŏf′ə-lēz′ ]

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

Other words from Anopheles

a•noph•e•line (-līn′) adj.