|  The Spanish called the mosquitoes "musketas," and
the native Hispanic Americans called them "zancudos." "Mosquito" is
a Spanish or Portuguese word meaning "little fly" while "zancudos," a
Spanish word, means "long-legged." The use of the
word "mosquito" is apparently of North
American origin and dates back to about 1583. In Europe, mosquitoes were called "gnats" by
the English, "Les moucherons" or "Les cousins" by
French writers, while the Germans used the name "Stechmucken" or "Schnacke." In
Scandinavian countries mosquitoes were called by a variety
of names including "myg" and "myyga" and
the Greeks called them "konopus." In 300 B.C., Aristotle
referred to mosquitoes as "empis" in his "Historia
Animalium" where he documented their life cycle and metamorphic
abilities. Modern writers used the name Culex and it is retained
today as the name of a mosquito genus. What is the correct
plural form of the word mosquito? In Spanish it would be "mosquitos," but
in English "mosquitoes" (with the "e")
is correct.
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