syrphid

[ sur-fid ]

/ ˈsɜr fɪd /

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noun

syrphid fly.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the family Syrphidae.

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Also syr·phi·an

[sur-fee-uhn]. /ˈsɜr fi ən/.

Origin of syrphid

1890–95; <New Latin Syrphidae family name, equivalent to Syrph(us) a genus (<Greek sýrphos gnat) + New Latin -idae-id²

Words nearby syrphid

syringeal, syringomyelia, syrinx, Syro-, Syros, syrphid, syrphid fly, Syrtis Major, syrup, syrupy, sys-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use syrphid in a sentence

The family of the Syrphid includes three remarkable types, which we cannot pass over in silence.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
This is a very bright-colored syrphid fly often seen soaring in shadowy places, but what he is doing we do not know.
Book of Monsters|David Fairchild and Marian Hubbard (Bell) Fairchild
As types of the Brachystom we select the Leptid and Syrphid.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
Syrphid and other flies which mimic bees and wasps can readily be found on flowers.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition|Vernon L. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for syrphid

syrphid

/ (ˈsɜːfɪd) /

noun

any dipterous fly of the family Syrphidae, typically having a coloration mimicking that of certain bees and wasps: includes the hover flies

Word Origin for syrphid

C19: from Greek surphos gnat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012