See gadfly on Wiktionary
Download JSON data for gadfly meaning in All languages combined (13.9kB)
{
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "gadfly petrel"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "deer botfly"
},
"expansion": "deer botfly",
"name": "vern"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "Cephenemyia stimulator",
"2": "species"
},
"expansion": "Cephenemyia stimulator",
"name": "taxlink"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*plewk-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gad",
"3": "fly",
"t1": "(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad"
},
"expansion": "gad (“(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly",
"name": "af"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "",
"3": "Gad"
},
"expansion": "Gad",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "gad"
},
"expansion": "Middle English gad",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "gadde",
"t": "metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet"
},
"expansion": "gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "gaddr",
"t": "spike; goad"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*gazdaz",
"t": "spike; goad"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "B.C.E.",
"name": "B.C.E."
},
{
"args": {
"1": "470",
"short": "1"
},
"expansion": "c. 470",
"name": "circa2"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "B.C.E.",
"name": "B.C.E."
},
{
"args": {
"1": "grc",
"2": "μῠ́ωψ"
},
"expansion": "Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (múōps)",
"name": "noncog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From gad (“(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”), borrowed from Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”), further etymology uncertain.\nSense 2.1.1 (“person who upsets the status quo”) may allude to the Apology by the Greek philosopher Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 B.C.E.), where he describes Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.E.) acting as a goad to the Athenian political scene like a gadfly (Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (múōps)) arousing a sluggish horse.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "gadflies",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "gadfly (plural gadflies)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"gad‧fly"
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "43 6 12 12 26",
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Horseflies",
"orig": "en:Horseflies",
"parents": [
"Dipterans",
"Insects",
"Arthropods",
"Animals",
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "38 7 15 13 27",
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Oestroid flies",
"orig": "en:Oestroid flies",
"parents": [
"Dipterans",
"Insects",
"Arthropods",
"Animals",
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "(botfly):"
},
{
"text": "(horsefly):"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Rafael Argullol, “Introduction”, in Yolanda Gamboa, transl., The End of the World as a Work of Art: A Western Story, Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, page 48",
"text": "Vengeful Hera transformed her [Io] into an animal (a beautiful cow), and imposed upon her the company of a gadfly to sting her continuously, thus forcing her to escape on an endless pilgrimage.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a botfly) or Tabanidae (horsefly), noted for irritating animals by buzzing about them, and biting them to suck their blood; a gadbee."
],
"id": "en-gadfly-en-noun-B4JLxqw6",
"links": [
[
"dipterous",
"dipterous#English"
],
[
"two",
"two#Numeral"
],
[
"winged",
"winged#Adjective"
],
[
"insect",
"insect"
],
[
"fly",
"fly#Noun"
],
[
"family",
"family"
],
[
"Oestridae",
"Oestridae#Translingual"
],
[
"commonly",
"commonly"
],
[
"known",
"know#Verb"
],
[
"botfly",
"botfly"
],
[
"Tabanidae",
"Tabanidae#Translingual"
],
[
"horsefly",
"horsefly"
],
[
"noted",
"note#Verb"
],
[
"irritating",
"irritate"
],
[
"animal",
"animal"
],
[
"buzzing",
"buzz#Verb"
],
[
"biting",
"bite#Verb"
],
[
"suck",
"suck#Verb"
],
[
"blood",
"blood#Noun"
],
[
"gadbee",
"gadbee"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "warble fly"
},
{
"word": "stoat-fly"
},
{
"word": "stout"
}
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates."
],
"id": "en-gadfly-en-noun-q5vodkt5",
"links": [
[
"person",
"person#Noun"
],
[
"thing",
"thing"
],
[
"instigate",
"instigate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates."
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "4 0 65 15 15",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "5 3 78 7 7",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Personality",
"orig": "en:Personality",
"parents": [
"Mind",
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1977, Morris Kline, Why the Professor Can’t Teach: Mathematics and the Dilemma of University Education, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, page 238",
"text": "There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook. Polemics is healthy.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Andrew Martin, “The World of Charles Pearson”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, pages 26–27",
"text": "What was required now was the intervention of some men who were not gadflies. […] The logic of [Charles] Pearson's arguments was accepted, up to a point, by a consortium of businessmen. In August 1854, […] the consortium obtained royal assent for […] the Metropolitan Railway. […] In 1859, when it looked as though the Metropolitan Railway Company would be wound up with no line built, he [Pearson] wrote a pamphlet: A Twenty Minutes Letter to the Citizens of London in Favour of the Metropolitan Railway and City Station. Gadfly he may have been, but by this 'letter' he persuaded the Corporation of London to invest £200,000 in the line, a most unusual example of a public body investing in a Victorian railway.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2021 April 10, John Leland, “This heroin-using professor wants to change how we think about drugs”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-28",
"text": "Dr. [Carl] Hart, 54, the first tenured African-American science professor at Columbia, is a gadfly among drug researchers and a rock star among advocates for decriminalizing drugs.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates.",
"A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant."
],
"id": "en-gadfly-en-noun-wRfQl6U6",
"links": [
[
"person",
"person#Noun"
],
[
"thing",
"thing"
],
[
"instigate",
"instigate"
],
[
"upsets",
"upset#Verb"
],
[
"status quo",
"status quo"
],
[
"posing",
"pose#Verb"
],
[
"novel",
"novel#Adjective"
],
[
"upsetting",
"upsetting#Adjective"
],
[
"questions",
"question#Noun"
],
[
"attempts",
"attempt#Verb"
],
[
"stimulate",
"stimulate"
],
[
"innovation",
"innovation"
],
[
"irritant",
"irritant#Noun"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates.",
"(specifically) A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "maverick"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively",
"specifically"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "provokatør"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "urostifter"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"word": "häirikkö"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "empêcheur de tourner en rond"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Störenfried"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Quälgeist"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Querulant"
},
{
"_dis1": "3 7 68 10 12",
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "xar-magas-e jam'",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"word": "خرمگس جمع"
}
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”)"
],
"id": "en-gadfly-en-noun-dWDFt4Me",
"links": [
[
"gadabout",
"gadabout#English"
],
[
"restlessly",
"restlessly"
],
[
"moves",
"move#Verb"
],
[
"place",
"place#Noun"
],
[
"seeking",
"seek#Verb"
],
[
"amusement",
"amusement"
],
[
"companionship",
"companionship"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "social butterfly"
},
{
"extra": "a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others",
"tags": [
"synonym",
"synonym-of"
],
"word": "gadabout"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "17 10 23 20 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "20 6 16 23 35",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"parents": [
"Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "16 8 17 16 42",
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Parasites",
"orig": "en:Parasites",
"parents": [
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "He’s a regular gadfly and takes advantage of his friend’s generosity.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker."
],
"id": "en-gadfly-en-noun-hRDNpzQ5",
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
],
[
"takes",
"take#Verb"
],
[
"giving",
"give#Verb"
],
[
"bloodsucker",
"bloodsucker"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"(derogatory, slang) A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "scrounger"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"derogatory",
"figuratively",
"slang"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈɡædflaɪ/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈɡædˌflaɪ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-gadfly.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7b/En-au-gadfly.ogg/En-au-gadfly.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/En-au-gadfly.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"word": "piikittelijä"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "casse-pieds"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Störenfried"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Quälgeist"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Querulant"
},
{
"_dis1": "1 41 42 7 9",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"word": "baş belası"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Harold North Fowler",
"Harvard University Press",
"Loeb Classical Library",
"Plato",
"Socrates"
],
"word": "gadfly"
}
{
"categories": [
"English 2-syllable words",
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms derived from Old Norse",
"English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *plewk-",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"English terms with IPA pronunciation",
"English terms with audio links",
"en:Horseflies",
"en:Oestroid flies",
"en:Parasites",
"en:People",
"en:Personality"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "gadfly petrel"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "deer botfly"
},
"expansion": "deer botfly",
"name": "vern"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "Cephenemyia stimulator",
"2": "species"
},
"expansion": "Cephenemyia stimulator",
"name": "taxlink"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*plewk-"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gad",
"3": "fly",
"t1": "(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad"
},
"expansion": "gad (“(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly",
"name": "af"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "",
"3": "Gad"
},
"expansion": "Gad",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "gad"
},
"expansion": "Middle English gad",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "enm",
"2": "gadde",
"t": "metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet"
},
"expansion": "gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "gaddr",
"t": "spike; goad"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*gazdaz",
"t": "spike; goad"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "B.C.E.",
"name": "B.C.E."
},
{
"args": {
"1": "470",
"short": "1"
},
"expansion": "c. 470",
"name": "circa2"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "B.C.E.",
"name": "B.C.E."
},
{
"args": {
"1": "grc",
"2": "μῠ́ωψ"
},
"expansion": "Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (múōps)",
"name": "noncog"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From gad (“(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”), borrowed from Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”), further etymology uncertain.\nSense 2.1.1 (“person who upsets the status quo”) may allude to the Apology by the Greek philosopher Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 B.C.E.), where he describes Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.E.) acting as a goad to the Athenian political scene like a gadfly (Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (múōps)) arousing a sluggish horse.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "gadflies",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "gadfly (plural gadflies)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"gad‧fly"
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "(botfly):"
},
{
"text": "(horsefly):"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Rafael Argullol, “Introduction”, in Yolanda Gamboa, transl., The End of the World as a Work of Art: A Western Story, Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, page 48",
"text": "Vengeful Hera transformed her [Io] into an animal (a beautiful cow), and imposed upon her the company of a gadfly to sting her continuously, thus forcing her to escape on an endless pilgrimage.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Any dipterous (“two-winged”) insect or fly of the family Oestridae (commonly known as a botfly) or Tabanidae (horsefly), noted for irritating animals by buzzing about them, and biting them to suck their blood; a gadbee."
],
"links": [
[
"dipterous",
"dipterous#English"
],
[
"two",
"two#Numeral"
],
[
"winged",
"winged#Adjective"
],
[
"insect",
"insect"
],
[
"fly",
"fly#Noun"
],
[
"family",
"family"
],
[
"Oestridae",
"Oestridae#Translingual"
],
[
"commonly",
"commonly"
],
[
"known",
"know#Verb"
],
[
"botfly",
"botfly"
],
[
"Tabanidae",
"Tabanidae#Translingual"
],
[
"horsefly",
"horsefly"
],
[
"noted",
"note#Verb"
],
[
"irritating",
"irritate"
],
[
"animal",
"animal"
],
[
"buzzing",
"buzz#Verb"
],
[
"biting",
"bite#Verb"
],
[
"suck",
"suck#Verb"
],
[
"blood",
"blood#Noun"
],
[
"gadbee",
"gadbee"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "warble fly"
},
{
"word": "stoat-fly"
},
{
"word": "stout"
}
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates."
],
"links": [
[
"person",
"person#Noun"
],
[
"thing",
"thing"
],
[
"instigate",
"instigate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates."
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1977, Morris Kline, Why the Professor Can’t Teach: Mathematics and the Dilemma of University Education, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, page 238",
"text": "There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook. Polemics is healthy.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Andrew Martin, “The World of Charles Pearson”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, pages 26–27",
"text": "What was required now was the intervention of some men who were not gadflies. […] The logic of [Charles] Pearson's arguments was accepted, up to a point, by a consortium of businessmen. In August 1854, […] the consortium obtained royal assent for […] the Metropolitan Railway. […] In 1859, when it looked as though the Metropolitan Railway Company would be wound up with no line built, he [Pearson] wrote a pamphlet: A Twenty Minutes Letter to the Citizens of London in Favour of the Metropolitan Railway and City Station. Gadfly he may have been, but by this 'letter' he persuaded the Corporation of London to invest £200,000 in the line, a most unusual example of a public body investing in a Victorian railway.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2021 April 10, John Leland, “This heroin-using professor wants to change how we think about drugs”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-28",
"text": "Dr. [Carl] Hart, 54, the first tenured African-American science professor at Columbia, is a gadfly among drug researchers and a rock star among advocates for decriminalizing drugs.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates.",
"A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant."
],
"links": [
[
"person",
"person#Noun"
],
[
"thing",
"thing"
],
[
"instigate",
"instigate"
],
[
"upsets",
"upset#Verb"
],
[
"status quo",
"status quo"
],
[
"posing",
"pose#Verb"
],
[
"novel",
"novel#Adjective"
],
[
"upsetting",
"upsetting#Adjective"
],
[
"questions",
"question#Noun"
],
[
"attempts",
"attempt#Verb"
],
[
"stimulate",
"stimulate"
],
[
"innovation",
"innovation"
],
[
"irritant",
"irritant#Noun"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"A person or thing that irritates or instigates.",
"(specifically) A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "maverick"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively",
"specifically"
]
},
{
"glosses": [
"Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”)"
],
"links": [
[
"gadabout",
"gadabout#English"
],
[
"restlessly",
"restlessly"
],
[
"moves",
"move#Verb"
],
[
"place",
"place#Noun"
],
[
"seeking",
"seek#Verb"
],
[
"amusement",
"amusement"
],
[
"companionship",
"companionship"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"Synonym of gadabout (“a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others”)"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "social butterfly"
},
{
"extra": "a person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others",
"tags": [
"synonym",
"synonym-of"
],
"word": "gadabout"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English derogatory terms",
"English slang",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "He’s a regular gadfly and takes advantage of his friend’s generosity.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker."
],
"links": [
[
"derogatory",
"derogatory"
],
[
"takes",
"take#Verb"
],
[
"giving",
"give#Verb"
],
[
"bloodsucker",
"bloodsucker"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, also attributively)",
"(derogatory, slang) A person who takes without giving back; a bloodsucker."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "scrounger"
}
],
"tags": [
"also",
"attributive",
"derogatory",
"figuratively",
"slang"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈɡædflaɪ/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈɡædˌflaɪ/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-gadfly.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7b/En-au-gadfly.ogg/En-au-gadfly.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/En-au-gadfly.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"word": "piikittelijä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "casse-pieds"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Störenfried"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Quälgeist"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Querulant"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "person or thing that irritates or instigates",
"word": "baş belası"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "provokatør"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "urostifter"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"word": "häirikkö"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "empêcheur de tourner en rond"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Störenfried"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Quälgeist"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Querulant"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "xar-magas-e jam'",
"sense": "person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant",
"word": "خرمگس جمع"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Harold North Fowler",
"Harvard University Press",
"Loeb Classical Library",
"Plato",
"Socrates"
],
"word": "gadfly"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.