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hangingfly

American

[hang-ing-flahy] / ˈhæŋ ɪŋˌflaɪ /

noun

a small, long-legged scorpionfly of the family Bittacidae, resembling the crane fly but having four wings rather than two and hanging from leaves or twigs by the front or middle legs while using the hind legs to seize prey, mostly small flies.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

hangingflies

plural

Etymology

Origin of hangingfly

hanging + 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.