mosquito hawk

American  

noun

1. nighthawk.

2. Also called skeeter hawk.  Chiefly Southern U.S. dragonfly.

---

mosquito hawk British  

noun

1. another name for nighthawk

---

Regionalisms

See dragonfly.

Etymology

Origin of mosquito hawk

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; so called because it feeds on nocturnal insects such as mosquitoes

Example Sentences

He could dissect a butterfly or a mosquito hawk, and describe their parts as accurately as a spectacled student with a scalpel and microscope could talk about a cadaver.

From The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Dunbar-Nelson, Alice Moore

From the starlit sky above fell the shrill cry of the mosquito hawk, "peepeegeeceese, peepeegeeceese!"

From The Story of Isaac Brock Hero, Defender and Saviour of Upper Canada, 1812 by Nursey, Walter R.

For this reason it is sometimes called mosquito hawk.

From The Insect Folk by Morley, Margaret Warner