Meanings
- no pluralrareSomething which repels or kills flies, typically a plant; a fly repellent. Also spelled "muscafuge" (1844) by Henry Stephens, who claimed to have coined it.
A Muscifuge... the sweet odour emanated seems very offensive to the ordinary house fly.
1897, anonymous author, The Dublin Journal of Medical Science, volume 103, Fannin & Company, page 1861 more example
Pharmacists who are plagued with flies in hot weather will be glad to learn that, according to the Moniteur des Produits Chimiques, the Ricinus sanguinis, a common ornamental foliage plant and own brother to the Ricinus communis, is an effectual muscifuge.
1882, anonymous, The Pharmacist and Chemist, Volumes 15-16, C.E. Southard, page 228
Origin
- Latinmusca“fly”
- Englishmuscifuge
From Latin musca (“fly”) + -fuge (“repellent”), compare medieval Latin muscifugium, a fly fan.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
muscifuge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muscifuge
“muscifuge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muscifuge. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “muscifuge,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muscifuge.
Source: muscifuge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.