Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of numerous small nonbiting flies of the family Chironomidae, having aquatic larvae and often forming large swarms near ponds and lakes.
  • noun Any of various similar dipteran insects, such as the biting midges and the gall midges.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A two-winged fly of the order Diptera and suborder Nemocera; a gnat or some insect resembling one: a popular name applied with little discrimination to many different insects.
  • noun Something small of its kind, as the fry of fish; a dwarf; a midget.
  • noun A very small one-horse carriage used in the Isle of Wight, England.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Any one of many small, delicate, long-legged flies of the Chironomus, and allied genera, which do not bite. Their larvæ are usually aquatic.
  • noun A very small fly, abundant in many parts of the United States and Canada, noted for the irritating quality of its bite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of various small two-winged flies, for example, from the family Chironomidae or non-biting midges, the family Chaoboridae or phantom midges, and the family Ceratopogonidae or biting midges, all belonging to the order Diptera.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun minute two-winged mosquito-like fly lacking biting mouthparts; appear in dancing swarms especially near water

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English mycg.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English mydge, migge, from Old English mygg, mycg ("midge, gnat"), from West Germanic mugjō, from Proto-Germanic *mujan, *muwō (“midge”), from Proto-Indo-European *mū- (“fly, midge”), *mu-, *mew-. Cognate with Scots mige ("midge"), West Frisian mich ("fly, mosquito"), Dutch mug ("midge, gnat, mosquito"), Low German mügge ("midge, gnat, mosquito"), German Mücke ("midge, gnat, mosquito"), Swedish mygg, mygga ("midge, gnat, mosquito"), Icelandic  ("midge, gnat, fly"). The Proto-Indo-European root was also the source of Latin musca, Ancient Greek μυῖα (muia), Russian муха (múxa), Latvian muša, Albanian mizë, Armenian մուն (mun).

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Examples

  • Midget is a diminutive: MIDGE+ET, where a midge is a small insect resembling a gnat.

    The vertically challenged pipe up (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009

  • I knew that a midge was a small, annoying insect that flew around your head.

    The Viking Claw Michael Dahl 2001

  • We are told that Blue Tongue has been visited upon Britain as a result of global warning allowing a certain kind of midge to migrate Northwards through Europe, and high winds which then blew these midges across the North Sea.

    Archive 2007-09-01 Glyn Davies 2007

  • We are told that Blue Tongue has been visited upon Britain as a result of global warning allowing a certain kind of midge to migrate Northwards through Europe, and high winds which then blew these midges across the North Sea.

    The Polluter Pays - unless your name is Gordon Glyn Davies 2007

  • And then, of course, there's the 2007 AL Division Series "midge" game, when Chamberlain allowed the tying run out of the bullpen in New York's Game 2 loss.

    unknown title 2009

  • And then, of course, there's the 2007 AL Division Series "midge" game, when Chamberlain allowed the tying run out of the bullpen in New York's Game 2 loss.

    unknown title 2009

  • And then, of course, there's the 2007 AL Division Series "midge" game, when Chamberlain allowed the tying run out of the bullpen in New York's Game 2 loss.

    unknown title 2009

  • And then, of course, there's the 2007 AL Division Series "midge" game, when Chamberlain allowed the tying run out of the bullpen in New York's Game 2 loss.

    unknown title 2009

  • I'm with prairieghost when he said a # 20 bh zebra midge.

    What's your favorite fly? 2009

  • Yes | No | Report from jerry k wrote 1 year 3 weeks ago definatly a size 16 copper john in the nymph catagory, a size 22 jujubee for a midge, and for a dry fly a tie between a orange stimulator and a bwo thorax.

    What's your favorite fly? 2009

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