n.
Pronunciation: ' kan(t)-th ə -r ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural can · thar · i · des \ kan- ' thar- ə - ˌ d ē z \
Etymology: Middle English & Latin; Middle English cantharide, from Latin cantharid-, cantharis, from Greek kantharid-, kantharis
Date: 14th century
1 : SPANISH FLY 1
2 plural but singular or plural in construction : a preparation of dried beetles (as Spanish flies) used in medicine as a counterirritant and formerly as an aphrodisiac