Meanings
plural glossinas
- A tsetse fly; any fly of the genus Glossina.
Both trypanosomes and glossinas must have been present in Africa since very remote times.
1970, J. D. Fage, R. A. Oliver, Papers in African Prehistory, page 761 more example
The Sundi plantation employs at present nineteen labourers for catching flies, and in December they caught seventy-five glossinas.
1915, Commonwealth Shipping Committee, Report, volume 45, page 59
Synonyms & antonyms
nounbloodsucking African fly; transmits sleeping sickness etc.
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- taxonomic nameGlossina
- Englishglossina
Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Glossina.
More words from taxonomic name
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
glossina. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glossina
“glossina.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glossina. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “glossina,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/glossina.
Source: glossina on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.