\Can"tha*ris\, n.; pl. {Cantharides}. [L., a kind of
beetle, esp. the Spanish fly, Gr. kanqari`s.] (Zo["o]l.)
A beetle ({Lytta, or Cantharis, vesicatoria}), havin1g an
elongated cylindrical body of a brilliant green color, and a
nauseous odor; the blister fly or blister beetle, of the
apothecary; -- also called {Spanish fly}. Many other species
of {Lytta}, used for the same purpose, take the same name.
See {Blister beetle}, under {Blister}. The plural form in
usually applied to the dried insects used in medicine.