mosca
Aragonese
Etymology
From Latin musca, from a Proto-Indo-European root *mus-, *mu-, *mew-.
References
- Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) “mosca”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN
Catalan

Etymology
Inherited from Old Catalan mosca, from Latin musca, from a Proto-Indo-European root *mus-, *mu-, *mew-.
Pronunciation
Related terms
- mosca blanca
- mosca de l'api
- mosca del vinagre
- mosca negra
- mosca verda
- mosca vironera
- moscallejar
- moscalló
- moscam
- moscard
- moscarda
- mosquejar
- mosquer
- mosquera
- mosquit
Further reading
- “mosca” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “mosca”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “mosca” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “mosca” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Galician
Etymology 1
From Old Galician-Portuguese mosca, from Latin musca.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmoska̝/
Derived terms
References
- “mosca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
- “mosca” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
- “mosca” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “mosca” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “mosca” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Verb
mosca
- inflection of moscar:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Italian
Etymology
From Latin musca, from a Proto-Indo-European root *mus-, *mu-, *mew-. Compare Spanish mosca.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmo.ska/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -oska
- Hyphenation: mó‧sca
Noun
mosca f (plural mosche, diminutive moschétta or moschìna or moschìno m or moschettìna, augmentative (uncommon) moscóna, pejorative moscàccia)
- fly (insect)
- 13th century, “De’ Funghi [Of Mushrooms]”, in Trattato dell'agricoltura [Treatise On Agriculture], translation of Opus ruralium commodorum libri XII by Pietro De' Crescenzi, published 1605, page 326:
- […] quello è mortale, che tosto uccide, e chiamasi il fungo delle mosche, imperocchè, polverizzato in latte, uccide le mosche.
- That one is deadly, which kills at once, and it is called the "mushroom of the flies", because, if ground in milk, it kills flies.
- mid 1300s–mid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XVII”, in Inferno [Hell], lines 49–51; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:
- non altrimenti fan di state i cani
or col ceffo or col piè, quando son morsi
o da pulci o da mosche o da tafani- Not unlike how dogs do during the summer, with the head or the leg, when they're bitten by fleas or flies or horseflies
- 1668, Francesco Redi, Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl’insetti [Experiences About the Generation of Insects], Florence, page 137:
- e pure io ho vedute le mosche partorir le loro uova ed i loro vermi nel timo, e da que’ vermi nascerne le mosche
- And yet, I've seen flies laying their eggs, and their larvae, amidst thyme, and flies being born from those larvae
- (by extension, figurative):
- (fishing) fly (lure)
- 1833, Nuovo dizionario universale tecnologico o di arti e mestieri - Tomo Ⅷ [New universal technological dictionary, or of arts and crafts - Volume 8], Venice: Giuseppe Antonelli ed., Mosca, page 461:
- Nell’arte della pesca, diconsi mosche certi insetti fittizi fatti alla buona per servire d’esca ai pesci.
- In the art of fishing, flies are a kind of improvised fake insects, made to serve as a lure for fish.
- 1981, Carlo Cotta Ramusino, “Capitolo Ⅶ - Tecnica di lancio [Chapter 7 - Throwing technique]”, in Pesca a mosca: canne, lenze, mulinelli, setali, mosche, lanci da pesca e da gara, page 195:
- Premetto che se volete imparare a lanciare, non dovete pretendere di andare vicino all’acqua, montare la canna, attaccare la mosca e mettervi a pescare.
- I have to preface that, if you wish to learn to throw [the line], you mustn't expect to just go near water, assemble the rod, attach the fly, and start fishing.
- (historical, cosmetics) beauty spot
- soul patch (narrow beard)
- (in the plural) Black spots on a horse's coat.
- (bartending slang) a roasted coffee bean sometimes served with sambuca
- (fishing) fly (lure)
- (foundry) a small ball of plastic material used to verify the thickness of the various parts of a mold
- (nautical, historical) aviso, advice boat
- Synonym: avviso
Derived terms
Further reading
- mosca in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Leonese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
References
Old Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmoska/
Noun
mosca f (plural moscas)
- fly
- c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, f. 31v:
- Et ſi tomaren cinco moſcas o ſiete ⁊ les tollieren las cabeças ⁊ las machucaren con eſta piedra. ⁊ las puſieren ſobre la ferida dela bieſpa, ſana luego ⁊ faz perder la dolor.
- And if the took five flies, or seven, and they took their heads and crushed them with this stone, and they put them on a wasp sting, it would then heal it and alleviate the pain.
Related terms
- mosquito (“mosquito”)
Portuguese

Etymology 1
From Old Galician-Portuguese mosca, from Latin musca, from a Proto-Indo-European root *mus-, *mu-, *mew-.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmos.kɐ/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ˈmoʃ.kɐ/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmos.ka/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈmoʃ.kɐ/
- Hyphenation: mos‧ca
Noun
mosca f (plural moscas)
- fly (various insects in the order Diptera)
- soul patch (narrow beard)
- bullseye (centre of a target)
- (colloquial) an annoying person
Usage notes
Derived terms
- amanita mata-moscas
- às moscas
- comer mosca
- dar mosca
- mata-moscas
- mosca azul
- mosca doméstica
- mosca volante
- mosca-das-frutas
- mosca-varejeira
- moscão
- moscar
- moscar
- mosquinha
- na mosca
- papa-moscas
- pé de mosca
- peso mosca
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmɔs.kɐ/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ˈmɔʃ.kɐ/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈmɔs.ka/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈmɔʃ.kɐ/
- Hyphenation: mos‧ca
Verb
mosca
- inflection of moscar:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “mosca” in iDicionário Aulete.
- “mosca” in Dicionário Online de Português.
- “mosca” in Dicionário inFormal.
- “mosca” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
- “mosca” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmoska/ [ˈmos.ka]
Audio (Colombia): (file) - Rhymes: -oska
- Syllabification: mos‧ca
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Spanish mosca, from Latin musca, from a Proto-Indo-European root *mus-, *mu-, *mew-.
Noun
mosca f (plural moscas)
- fly (any insect of the order Diptera)
- (boxing) fly (boxing class)
- (television) digital on-screen graphic
Derived terms
- ala de mosca
- alguacil de moscas
- amoscar
- atrapamoscas
- caer como moscas
- en boca cerrada no entran moscas
- matamoscas
- mosca de burro
- mosca de la carne
- mosca de la fruta
- mosca de Milán
- mosca del vinagre
- mosca muerta
- mosca soldado
- moscarda
- moscardón
- mosco
- moscón
- mosquito
- orquídea mosca
- papamoscas
- por si las moscas
- publimosca
- puñado de moscas
- qué mosca te ha picado
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
mosca
- inflection of moscar:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “mosca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014