maringouin

American  

[mar-uhn-gwan, ma-ran-gwan] / ˌmær ənˈgwɛ̃, ma rɛ̃ˈgwɛ̃ /

noun

Louisiana.

maringouins plural

1. a mosquito, especially a large swamp mosquito.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• maringouins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of maringouin

First recorded in 1800–05; from Louisiana French, French; earlier marigoin, marigon, from Tupi marui(m), mbarigui

Explanation

If you're in a Louisiana swamp, watch out for maringouins — insects that either suck your blood or take a tiny chunk of flesh. It's unclear whether the word refers technically to a mosquito or a blackfly, but both are nasty pests! Maringouin is Louisiana French, but it took various other forms when first borrowed from the Tupi language, whose word was marigui or mbarigui. The Tupi are an Indigenous people living in the rainforest in the river valleys of Brazil — a pretty damp area, so they’re well acquainted with mosquitoes. How the word traveled up to Louisiana is another story! Since then it has traveled even further north, to French Canada, where it means "mosquito." Pronounce it with nasal vowels and without actually saying the n.

Example Sentences

Looking down into it, I see many larvae of the maringouin, or large mosquito: no fish.

From Two Years in the French West Indies by Hearn, Lafcadio