# If there are mosquitos in England, then why no English word for them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823 "2010-01-13T19:29:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/21 "2010-01-13T23:33:52Z")
I have certainly been bitten by gnats, many times, in the south of England, and have been in clouds of midges in Scotland. I cannot remember clearly whether I or anyone with me was actually bitten by the midges, but I am pretty sure we were afraid of getting bitten (which suggests that the folklore is that they do bite). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/22 "2010-01-13T23:50:07Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Do the Scottish midges bite? According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midge), at least, only one family of midges actually bites. Are they the ones that are such a nuisance in Scotland? Yup - the Highland Midge _Culicoides impunctatus_ is one of the bitey ones. I never get bitten, but plenty of other people do. Even without the biting they can be immensely annoying as hundreds of them crawl over every bit of exposed skin. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/23 "2010-01-14T00:08:12Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Isn’t about half of English made up of foreign words anyway? Yes, but I think the point was why borrow a Spanish word for something that we should already have had a word for, especially in England. English has lots of French, Scandinavian and even Dutch loan words for pretty obvious reasons, but not so many Spanish ones (except the ones that entered the language in the Americas). ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/24 "2010-01-14T00:22:24Z")
The Highland midge is to be feared - impacts tourism there in the summer. Unfortunate, as the mountains are glorious that time of year. It’s generally OK if you’re on the move IME, even walking is OK if you’re heading for the hills as they drop off as you gain altitude. Camping, though, would be out of the question for me in June / July / August. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/25 "2010-01-14T00:38:13Z")
> [@TGWATY](#): > > If Britain has mosquitos, why did we end up borrowing a Spanish word for them? why isn’t there a good old Anglo-Saxon word for them like there is for ants, beatles, and butterflies? Ants, beetles and butterflies are all group/category terms. In which case, mosquitoes would have just fallen under the heading ‘flies’ (or as other have stated, gnats). I think the English language probably had little need for a more precise term for one distinct type of insect - If they had been useful as some kind of resource, I imagine we’d have a whole range of different names for each and every mosquito species, like we do for game fowl. ---
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/26 "2010-01-14T01:55:14Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > [http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/index.aspx](http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/index.aspx) Here’s some information on how they got their name (scroll down a bit). Prior to the mid-1500’s, I guess the English called them ‘gnats’. Ok. So North Americans learned to call them mosquitos from the Spanish-speakers in N.A. and then that spread back to England. Sounds plausible. Kudos for this find. minus two points for everyone who didn’t notice my play on the word “beatles” in the OP. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/27 "2010-01-14T02:13:18Z")
So, I guess this falls into my “except the ones that entered the language in the Americas” category. I should read the links in the OP more closely in the future. I didn’t catch on the first read… ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/28 "2010-01-14T08:01:11Z")
Of course we have mosquitoes in the UK and malaria used to be endemic in this country:- [article](http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/sep/12/health.weather) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/29 "2010-01-14T08:21:18Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I’ve seen midges/gnats (the tiny little insects that fly around in the evening, much smaller than mosquitoes), and I do know people who say they sometimes get bitten by them. But I’ve never seen a mosquito anywhere in the UK and personally I’ve never been bitten by any flying insect here. Plus I hardly ever hear anyone talking about getting bitten and I’ve never seen anyone use a window screen or repellents… I’ve always thought it’s one of the main bonuses to this country… we trade terrible weather in exchange for having no mosquitoes. I saw my first proper full-sized tropical-style biting mosquito in England in 2006, in Oxford. I see more and more of them every summer. My guess is they’re coming over from France (and taking our jobs, taking our women, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/30 "2010-01-14T08:37:21Z")
> [@TGWATY](#): > > …minus two points for everyone who didn’t notice my play on the word “beatles” in the OP. 😃 I noticed it, but thought it a typo. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/31 "2010-01-14T08:40:11Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I’ve seen midges/gnats (the tiny little insects that fly around in the evening, much smaller than mosquitoes), and I do know people who say they sometimes get bitten by them. But I’ve never seen a mosquito anywhere in the UK and personally I’ve never been bitten by any flying insect here. Plus I hardly ever hear anyone talking about getting bitten and I’ve never seen anyone use a window screen or repellents… I’ve always thought it’s one of the main bonuses to this country… we trade terrible weather in exchange for having no mosquitoes. We get a lot of them here on the south coast - and I know they’re mosquitoes from seeing them settle on walls. They make a thin but audible whine when they fly about (at least the biting females do). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/32 "2010-01-14T08:43:23Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I agree that it’s a European thing, not an English thing. Just try to find a screened window in Italy, a country not noted for its lack of flying insects. Ubiquitous in southern Italy. My house in Puglia has screened windows, as do all the other houses. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/33 "2010-01-14T09:24:43Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > We get a lot of them here on the south coast - and I know they’re mosquitoes from seeing them settle on walls. They make a thin but audible whine when they fly about (at least the biting females do). British gnats are certainly mosquito-like insects, but they are only about a millimeter or two in size. Here in California we get mosquitoes with bodies over an inch long. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/34 "2010-01-14T10:18:03Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > British gnats are certainly mosquito-like insects, but they are only about a millimeter or two in size. Here in California we get mosquitoes with bodies over an inch long. The mosquitoes I’m used to seeing (and being bitten by) here are maybe half an inch long. We get gnats and midges too. ETA: Is there some doubt being expressed here in this thread about the presence of true mosquitoes in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/35 "2010-01-14T10:36:11Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > British gnats are certainly mosquito-like insects, but they are only about a millimeter or two in size. Here in California we get mosquitoes with bodies over an inch long. Both of those are mosquitos in Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/36 "2010-01-14T11:15:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ETA: Is there some doubt being expressed here in this thread about the presence of true mosquitoes in the UK? I have an English friend that asserted to me that there are not mosquitoes in England, and when I stayed there one August I never encountered one. So maybe they are just not as common a phenomenon as they are in other countries. I do get mosquito bites when I’m here in Germany, and in my homeland in Florida the mosquitoes often get so thick that you can walk across ponds just by being careful to step on their backs. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/37 "2010-01-14T11:27:00Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > I’ve seen midges/gnats (the tiny little insects that fly around in the evening, much smaller than mosquitoes), and I do know people who say they sometimes get bitten by them. But I’ve never seen a mosquito anywhere in the UK and personally I’ve never been bitten by any flying insect here. Plus I hardly ever hear anyone talking about getting bitten and I’ve never seen anyone use a window screen or repellents… I’ve always thought it’s one of the main bonuses to this country… we trade terrible weather in exchange for having no mosquitoes. I think you killed them off with the killer fog of the industrial revolution and the little buggers are afraid to come back. Your weather is perfect for mosquitoes. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/38 "2010-01-14T11:28:10Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I have an English friend that asserted to me that there are not mosquitoes in England, and when I stayed there one August I never encountered one. So maybe they are just not as common a phenomenon as they are in other countries. I do get mosquito bites when I’m here in Germany, and in my homeland in Florida the mosquitoes often get so thick that you can walk across ponds just by being careful to step on their backs. :rolleyes: We know those are palmetto bugs. You’re not fooling anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/39 "2010-01-14T11:44:31Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I have an English friend that asserted to me that there are not mosquitoes in England. Your friend is wrong. We don’t have any kind of mosquito _problem_ in England, but we definitely do have mosquitoes. ([cite](http://www.uel.ac.uk/mosquito/)) I’m not proud of this fact, and I apologise if it’s coming over that way - but it is a fact - that’s what’s bugging me here. (no pun intended) ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823/40 "2010-01-14T12:18:26Z")
Apart from midges, which are bad enough, we also get cleggs (horse flies) in some parts of Scotland. My first encounter was when I visited Gigha (small island off the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula) as a boy, where they were everywhere, it seemed. Despite their name, they do also bite people. This message board [post](http://www.bothyandguitar.zoomshare.com/2.shtml/addd02ae1a00ce5350680f18590221fc_44deedcd.writeback) describes them, and their bite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-are-mosquitos-in-england-then-why-no-english-word-for-them/524823.md?page=3)