- mosquito
- c.1583, from Sp. mosquito "little gnat," dim. of mosca "fly," from L. musca "fly," from PIE base *mu-, perhaps imitative of the sound of humming insects. Colloquial form skeeter is attested from 1839.
- canopy
- late 14c., from O.Fr. conope "bed-curtain," from L. conopeum, from Gk. konopeion "couch with mosquito curtains," from konops "mosquito, gnat." The same word (canape) in Sp. and Port. now means "sofa, couch."
- malaria
- 1740, from It. mal'aria, from mala aria, lit. "bad air," from mala "bad" (fem. of malo, from L. malus) + aria "air." Probably first used by It. physician Francisco Torti (1658-1741). The mosquito-borne disease was once thought to have been caused by foul air in marshy districts. Replaced native ague.