Etymology

muscifuge

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Today it means: Something which repels or kills flies, typically a plant; a fly repellent. Also spelled "muscafuge" (1844) by Henry Stephens, who claimed to have coined it. Full definition →

Latin musca
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frommusca“fly”
  2. English todaymuscifuge

From Latin musca (“fly”) + -fuge (“repellent”), compare medieval Latin muscifugium, a fly fan.

Words from the same roots

Latinmusca all →

mosquitomusketmuscamuscarinemuschetormuscicidemuscoid

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.