/ məˈskiːtəʊ; NAmE -toʊ BrE also mɒs-/ noun
( pl. -oes or -os ) a flying insect that bites humans and animals and sucks their blood. One type of mosquito can spread the disease malaria :
a mosquito bite
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: from Spanish and Portuguese , diminutive of mosca , from Latin musca fly.