cantharides

< /kænˈθær ɪs/.

1. Spanish fly(def 1).
2. cantharis. Spanish fly(def 2).

noun

1. Also called cantharides. a preparation of powdered blister beetles, especially the Spanish fly, used medicinally as a counterirritant, diuretic, and aphrodisiac.
2. Also Span·ish·fly. Also called cantharis. a common European blister beetle, Cantharis (Lytta) vesicatoria, that yields this preparation.

pl n singular cantharis (ˈkænθərɪs)

1. a diuretic and urogenital stimulant or irritant prepared from the dried bodies of Spanish fly (family Meloidae, not Cantharidae), once thought to be an aphrodisiacAlso called: Spanish fly

noun

1. a European blister beetle, Lytta vesicatoria (family Meloidae), the dried bodies of which yield the pharmaceutical product cantharides
2. another name for cantharides