gnat
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English gnat, from Old English gnætt (“gnat; midge; mosquito”), from Proto-West Germanic *gnatt, *gnattu, from Proto-Germanic *gnattaz, *gnattuz (“gnat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰneHdʰn-, *gʰneHd- (“to gnaw; scratch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰen- (“to gnaw; bite; scratch; grind”). Cognate with Low German Gnatte (“gnat”), dialectal Swedish gnatt (“mote; particle; atom”), German Gnatz (“scabs; rash; scabies; stinginess”). Related also gnit and gnaw.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /næt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -æt
Noun
editgnat (plural gnats)
- Any small insect of the order Diptera, specifically within the suborder Nematocera.
- (informal) An annoying person.
- 1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 115:
- "Away thou whining gnat, and trouble me not!"
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editany small insect of the order Diptera
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See also
editAnagrams
editMiddle English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Old English gnætt, from Proto-Germanic *gnattaz.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editgnat (plural gnattes)
- A gnat or similar insect.
- Something of little worth or importance.
Descendants
editReferences
edit- “gnat, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-10-17.
Polish
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editInherited from Proto-Slavic *gnatъ.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editgnat m animal (diminutive gnacik)
- (colloquial) large bone
- (slang) gun
- (Far Masovian) animal bone
- Synonym: kość
- (Far Masovian, less commonly) human bone
- Synonym: kość
- Gnaty me bolą. ― My bones hurt.
Declension
editDeclension of gnat
Further reading
editCategories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æt
- Rhymes:English/æt/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English informal terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:Dipterans
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- enm:Insects
- Polish terms inherited from Proto-Slavic
- Polish terms derived from Proto-Slavic
- Polish 1-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Polish/at
- Rhymes:Polish/at/1 syllable
- Polish terms with homophones
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish animal nouns
- Polish colloquialisms
- Polish slang
- Far Masovian Polish
- Polish terms with usage examples
- pl:Bones
- pl:Firearms