mayfly
noun
Forms mayflies
- noun Any of the many fragile insects of the order Ephemeroptera that develop in fresh water and live very briefly as winged adults. “While some animals take months to reproduce, mayfly need just one perfect day.”
- noun (attributive, figurative) Characterized by a short duration; short-lived.
Synonyms
dayfly drake drakefly ephemera ephemerid fishfly shadfly upwing fly upwinged fly
Etymology
From May (“fifth month”) + fly (“flying insect”). Compare Saterland Frisian Moaifljooge (“blowfly”).
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “mayfly”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details