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mayfly

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Etymology and origin of the English word mayfly

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1640 G. Sandys, translation of Ovid More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman maiOld English fleogan
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English May
English mayfly
From the same root
English maypole ← May

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmeɪflaɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English May + fly, from the name of the month and the word for the insect.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A caddis fly or an alder fly: 1640, in G. Sandys's translation of Ovid's Metamorphosis, a sense the OED follows to 1816.[2] For the insect the name now means, the OED's first record is 1653, in T. Barker's Art of Angling;[2][6] Etymonline gives the 1650s, and Dictionary.com 1645–55.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The name was at first loose: the OED's earliest record applies it to caddis flies and alder flies, and later ones to stoneflies and dragonflies.[2][4] Etymonline defines it as a popular name for ephemeral insects of early spring,[3] and it is now fixed on the order Ephemeroptera, whose short-lived adults lack mouthparts.[6][4] Anglers, who gave the name its first record in this sense, also used it for a stonefly and for an artificial fly imitating one, from 1676 in C. Cotton's Compleat Angler;[2] the Shorter Oxford and Merriam-Webster connect the artificial fly with the true mayfly.[4][6] A use for the dragonfly is recorded only from 1747 to 1752.[2] Wiktionary also records an adjectival use, short-lived.[1]

Timeline

  • 1640 – a caddis fly, also an alder fly (obsolete after 1816).[2]
  • 1653 – an insect of the order Ephemeroptera.[2][6]
  • 1676 – in angling, a stonefly, or an artificial fly imitating one.[2]
  • 1747 – a dragonfly (rare, obsolete after 1752).[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An insect of the order Ephemeroptera, with an aquatic nymph and a fragile, short-lived winged adult; an ephemerid.[7][6][4]
  2. (angling) An artificial fly made to imitate this insect.[7][6][4]
  3. (obsolete) Any of various other large insects found near water, such as a caddis fly, alder fly or dragonfly.[2][4]

Usage notes

In the United States the insect has many regional names, among them shad fly, fish fly, lake fly and twenty-four-hour bug.[8] In northwestern Massachusetts in 1899 May-fly could mean a June bug, and in Virginia that year perhaps a horsefly or similar insect troublesome to horses.[8] Merriam-Webster notes that the word is sometimes capitalized, and Collins gives dayfly as another name.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Cite this entry

“Mayfly.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mayfly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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