can·tha·ris (k n th r- s)n. pl. can·thar·i·des (k n-thr-d z ) In both senses also called Spanish fly.1. A brilliant green blister beetle (Lytta vesicatoria or Cantharis vesicatoria) of central and southern Europe. 2. cantharides (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A toxic preparation of the crushed, dried bodies of this beetle, formerly used as a counter-irritant for skin blisters and as an aphrodisiac. [Latin cantharis, cantharid-, from Greek kantharis, from kantharos.] |
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