dragonfly

plural dragonflies · alternative dragon-fly

1. An insect of the suborder Epiprocta or, more strictly, the infraorder Anisoptera, having four long transparent wings held perpendicular to a long body when perched.

   There were two dragonflies in the garden today.

   4 more examples

   The delicate coloured Dragon Flies may have likewise some Corrosive quality.

   1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum

   The sapphire needled dragonflies That flirt with the crested newt! And now before his newtly nose, […]

   1897, Thomas Wright, The Acid Sisters: And Other Poems, page 93

   Stacey Combes, who studies the biomechanics of dragonfly flight at Harvard, once watched a laboratory dragonfly eat 30 flies in a row.

   2013 April 1, Natalie Angier, “Nature’s Drone, Pretty and Deadly”, in The New York Times

   As the airboat skimmed across the shallow water, scattering blue dragonflies and launching a heron into the air, Keith Price squinted into the sun and relished the isolation of Florida’s unrivaled river of grass.

   2016 June 11, Lizette Alvarez, “In a Corner of the Everglades, a Way of Life Ebbs”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: adderbolt, battimamselle, darner, darning needle, devil's darning needle, devil's needle, dining needle, ear sewer