Dictionary

mayfly en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂sder.? Latin Maia Latin -us Latin Maiusder. Old French maibor. Middle English May English May English fly English mayfly From May (“fifth month”) + fly (“flying insect”). Compare Saterland Frisian Moaifljooge (“blowfly”).

Meanings

1. Any of the many fragile insects of the order Ephemeroptera that develop in fresh water and live very briefly as winged adults.
   • While some animals take months to reproduce, mayfly need just one perfect day.
   • Stoneflies have negligible consumptive (thin solid line) and behavioral effects (thin dashed line) on mayfly abundance. Consumption by trout decreases the abundance of mayflies (solid line), but trout suppress mayfly emigration (drift) and thereby increase their abundance (thick dashed line). 2010, Barbara L. Peckarsky, J. David Allan, Angus R. McIntosh, Brad W. Taylor, “Chapter 9: Understanding the Role of Predation in Open Systems”, in Ian Billick, Mary V. Price, editors, The Ecology of Place, page 195:
   • [A] silver fish clooped a lazy arc downstream, not really caring that the mayfly were out of reach; […] 1986, Mary Brown, “The Gathering: One; The Unicorn and the Prince”, in The Unlikely Ones (Pigs Don’t Fly; 1), London: Century, →ISBN, page 5:
   • Mayflies are fragile, gossamer-winged insects that arise from bodies of water and often swarm in great numbers. 2005, Terry Hellekson, Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art, page 213:
   • Adult mayflies have large compound eyes and most have two pairs of wings.[…]Mayfly nymphs are distinguished by their three tails (two cerci and a terminal filament) and the set of gills on each side of their abdomen. 2002, John Gooderham, Edward Tsyrlin, The Waterbug Book, page 132:
2. (attributive, figuratively) Characterized by a short duration; short-lived.
   • Dipping a French fry in her tomato ketchup, she admits that her name recognition could be higher. But it did spike a year ago during the mayfly premiership of Liz Truss. 2023 October 7, Jim Pickard, “It’s not government that creates jobs”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:

Forms

Descendants

مَئی مَکّھی · மேஃபிளை · ذُبَاب مَايُو · മെയ് ഫ്ലൈ · mayıs sineği

Relateds

hatch

Synonyms

dayfly · upwinged fly · ephemera · ephemerid · fishfly · drakefly · drake · shadfly · upwing fly

Translations (62)

tr mayıs sineği (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · es cachipolla (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · he בַּרְיוֹם (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · mi piriwai (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · it effimera (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · io efemeroptero (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sh vodencvet (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · oc efemèra (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · pl jętka (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · de Ephemeride (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nrf moûque d'un jour (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · io efemero (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · bg еднодне́вка (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sk podenka (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · fo døgnfluga (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ca efímera (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sv dagslända (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · fi päivänkorento (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nb døgnflue (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · yue 蜉蝣 (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nn døgerfluge (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ja 蜉蝣 (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · th แมลงชีปะขาว (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · vi thiêu thân (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ml മെയ് ഫ്ലൈ (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · pt efêmera (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · fr éphémère (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · es efímera (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nl eendagsvlieg (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · kk біркүндіктер (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · hu tiszavirág (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ta மேஃபிளை (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ur مَئی مَکّھی (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · bn মাছমাছি (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sh vodeni cvijet (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · oc manna del peis (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · el εφημερόπτερο (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · uk одноде́нка (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sh jednodnevka (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ar ذُبَابَة مَايُو (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · th ชีปะขาว (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · vi phù du (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ar ذُبَاب مَايُو (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · otw miimiins (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · eo efemero (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · sh vodeni cvet (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · it efemera (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · fo samdøgursfluga (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · de Eintagsfliege (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · cs jepice (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · cmn 蜉蝣 (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · az gündəcə (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ko 하루살이 (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nn døgnfluge (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · it effimero (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · pt efemérida (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nv aniłtʼánii bitseeʼ hólóní (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · hu kérész (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ky күнүмдүктөр (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · fa یکروزه (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · nl haft (insect of order Ephemeroptera) · ru подёнка (insect of order Ephemeroptera)