Dictionary

noseeum en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /nəʊˈsiː.əm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• nōsēʹəm (Received-Pronunciation)
• /noʊˈsi.əm/ (General-American)
• nōsēʹəm (General-American)

Etymology

Shortened no see them.

Meanings

1. (colloquial) A biting midge, a small flying insect that harasses people outdoors, particularly in warm weather after sunset.
   • The minges and noseeums had found her now, so many of them buzzing around her head that her vision seemed to dance with black specks. 1999, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon:
   • Noseeums will go right through a tent screen. 1983, Bob Cary, The big wilderness canoe manual:
2. The inference that, because one cannot observe a reason for why something is true, that there is no reason why it is true.

Forms