Hessian Fly
/ˈhɛsiən flaɪ/noun
A small fly whose larvae damage wheat and other cereal crops.
Did you know?The name was coined in 1779 because the insect was first reported in America in hay thought to have been brought by Hessian troops during the American Revolutionary War.
Etymological Timeline
1779
English
Hessian fly
“A crop-damaging fly named from a belief that it arrived with Hessian soldiers' hay”
Late 18th Century
English
Hessian
“Relating to Hesse or its soldiers, especially German auxiliaries in the American Revolution”
Old High German
OHG
Hessi
“The people or region of Hesse”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*Hassijōz
“The inhabitants of Hesse; the ethnonym behind the regional name”
Latin
Latin
Hassi
“Latinized form used for the people of Hesse in medieval and early modern writing”
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