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chalcidfly

American

[kal-sid-flahy] / ˈkæl sɪdˌflaɪ /

noun

any of numerous small flies of the family Chalcididae, often having bright metallic coloration, the larvae of which are chiefly parasitic on various stages of other insects.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

chalcidflies

plural

Etymology

Origin of chalcidfly

1890–95; < Greek chalk ( ós ) copper, brass (with allusion to the coloration) + -id ² + fly ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.