daddy longlegs - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

A daddy longlegs (cranefly)

A daddy longlegs (harvestman)

A daddy long-legs spider

From daddy + longlegs. First attested in 1810s. Preceded by father longlegs, attested from 1740s.

daddy longlegs (plural **daddy longlegs or daddy longlegses)

  1. (UK, Ireland) The cranefly; any insect of the suborder Tipulomorpha.
    • 2004, Bill Hansford-Steele, African Fly-fishing Handbook‎[1], page 316:
      Daddy longlegs adults are weak flyers, falling onto the water surface in the lightest of breezes, and even on calm days.
  2. (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US) Any (non-spider) arachnid of the order Opiliones, mostly with long thin legs.
    Synonym: harvestman
    • 2002, Maurice Burton, Robert Burton, The International Wildlife Encyclopedia, volume 10, page 636:
      Unlike spiders, daddy longlegs do not have a clearly marked division between thorax and abdomen. They are further distinguished from spiders in that they do not produce venom or silk.
    • 2004, Clay Thompson, Marshall Trimble, The Valley 101 Great Big Book of Life, page 33:
      Daddy longlegs aren′t even really spiders.
  3. (loosely) The daddy long-legs spider, any spider of the family Pholcidae.
    • 2010, Lou Bensinger, Tiny Invaders in Your Home‎[2], page 10:
      Another spider neighbor that is commonly found in homes is the daddy longlegs. The daddy longlegs is often called a cellar spider.

Some confusion exists because of the use of (almost) the same term for an insect, a non-spider arachnid and a spider. This is partly alleviated by some authors by using the term daddy long-legs spider for the spider.

harvestman