Emerg Infect DisEmerging Infect. DisEIDEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control and Prevention3437696ET-180910.3201/eid1809.ET1809News and NotesNews and NotesEtymologia: AnophelesEtymologia: AnophelesAddress for correspondence: Ronnie Henry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Mailstop E03, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA; email: boq3@cdc.gov9201218915111511Keywords: etymologiaAnophelesmalariamosquitoesMeigen<italic>Anopheles</italic> [ə-nofʹə-lēz]

From the Greek an (“not”) + ophelos (“benefit”), a genus of mosquitoes, many species of which are vectors of malaria. Anopheles was first described by German entomologist Johann Wilhelm Meigen in 1818. Although some sources translate Anopheles as “harmful,” it would be decades before Ronald Ross showed in 1897 that these mosquitoes transmit malaria parasites, and Meigen was most likely using Anopheles in a more literal interpretation as “useless.” That said, the connotation of “harmful” was prophetic in describing a mosquito that, even today, is indirectly responsible for ≈1 million deaths per year.

Suggested citation for this article: Etymologia: Anopheles. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2012 Sep [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1809.ET1809

SourcesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention Ross and the discovery that mosquitoes transmit malaria parasites [cited 2012 Aug 6]. http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/history/ross.htmlDorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary 32nd ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 2012Förster JA On the life and influence of J. W. Meigen. Mosquito Systematics. 1974;6:7988Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th ed. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; 2003