cantharides

American  

[kan-thar-i-deez] / kænˈθær ɪˌdiz /

plural noun

cantharis singular

1. Spanish fly.

2. cantharis. Spanish fly.

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cantharides British  

/ kænˈθærɪˌdiːz /

plural noun

1. Also called: Spanish fly.  a diuretic and urogenital stimulant or irritant prepared from the dried bodies of Spanish fly (family Meloidae, not Cantharidae ), once thought to be an aphrodisiac

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Etymology

Origin of cantharides

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, plural of cantharis < Greek kantharís blister fly

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cantharides cantharis

There was some danger of an absorption of the cantharides into the system, which might do more of general harm than would justify an attempt at local good.

From Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician by Alcott, William A. (William Andrus)

These striped cantharides are so numerous in all parts of the country that they are probably blown seaward by the wind, and naturally sail ashore on the tide.

From Harper's Young People, October 12, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

Treatment.—The treatment for inflammation of the vein is to clip the hair from along the course of the affected vessel and apply a blister, the cerate of cantharides.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

The external action of cantharides or cantharidin is extremely characteristic.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

The glands in the scalp absorb the lead, cantharides, cayenne pepper, or whatever the specific poison in the tonic may be; this is carried to the respiratory tract, and creates the symptoms of a cold.

From The Voice Its Production, Care and Preservation by Miller, Frank E.

But Numenius, in his Art of Fishing, enumerates plainly enough some sort of ὕαινα or plaice, when he says— The cantharis, hyæna, and the mullet.

From The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athen?us by Athen?us

The cantharis is largely reared in Spain, but also in other countries in southern and central Europe.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various

Under this heading may also be mentioned the domesticated insects, the silkworm, the bee and the cantharis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 8 "Ethiopia" to "Evangelical Association" by Various