oestrum

English

Etymology

From Latin oestrum, variant of oestrus.

Noun

oestrum (countable and uncountable, plural oestrums)

  1. (obsolete) A biting insect; a gadfly or botfly. [17th–19th c.]
    • 1802, William Paley, Natural Theology, section XIX:
      In the œstrum or gadfly, the wimble draws out like the pieces of a spy-glass […] .
  2. (figurative, now rare) Something that stings or incites one to frenzy or action; an impulse or passion. [from 17th c.]
  3. (physiology, zoology, now rare) Estrus. [from 18th c.]

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