different between gadfly vs nuisance

English

Etymology

From gad (“spike”) +? fly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ædfla?/

Noun

gadfly (plural gadflies)

1. Any dipterous insect of the family Oestridae, commonly known as botflies.

   Synonyms: botfly, warble fly

2. A horsefly: any of various species of fly, of the family Tabanidae, noted for buzzing about animals and sucking their blood.

   Synonyms: horsefly, stoat-fly, stout

   • 2005, Rafael Argullol, The End of the World as a Work of Art: A Western Story, Bucknell University Press (?ISBN), page 48:

     Vengeful Hera transformed her 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.

3. (figuratively) One who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by proving an irritant.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:maverick
4. (derogatory) One who merely irritates without making useful suggestions.
5. (derogatory, slang) A bloodsucker; a person who takes without giving back.

   Synonyms: bloodsucker; see also Thesaurus:scrounger

Translations

Further reading

• horse-fly on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• botfly on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From Middle English nuisance, from Anglo-Norman nusaunce, nussance etc., from Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”), from Latin noce? (“to harm”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?nus?ns/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?nju?s?ns/

Noun

nuisance (countable and uncountable, plural nuisances)

1. A minor annoyance or inconvenience.
   • 2010, Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data (2nd Edition), The MIT Press, p. 407

     By itself, nondifferentiability at zero is a minor nuisance.

2. A person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience.
3. (law) Anything harmful or offensive to the community or to a member of it, for which a legal remedy exists.

Synonyms

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): annoyance, inconvenience, offense
• (person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience): bother, obstacle, pest

Antonyms

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): enjoyment

Related terms

• nuisance call
• nuisance tax

Translations

References

• nuisance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

From Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”) (compare also French nuire), from Latin noce? (“I harm”), noc?re; may correspond to Late Latin noc?ntia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?i.z??s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Noun

nuisance f (plural nuisances)

1. nuisance
2. pollution

   Les nuisances sonores sont un véritable fléau dans ce quartier.

Related terms

• nuire

Further reading

• “nuisance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).