GADFLY Meaning of GADFLY in English n. (pl. -flies) 1. a cattle-biting fly, esp. a warble fly, horsefly, or bot-fly. 2 an irritating or harassing person. Etymology: obs. gad goad, spike f. ON gaddr, rel. to YARD(1) Oxford English vocab. Оксфордский английский словарь. 2012