cleg Now Sc. and dial.
(klɛg)
Also 5 clege, 6 clegge, 7–9 clegg.
[a. ON. kleggi, mod.Norw. klegg.]
A gadfly, horse-fly, or breeze.
| a 1449 W. Bower in Fordun's Scotichron. (1759) II. 376 The unlatit woman..pungis as the cleg. 1483 Cath. Angl. 66 A Clege. 1570 Levins Manip. 53 A clegge, flée, solipunga. 1656 Burton's Diary (1828) I. 308 Sir Christopher Pack did cleave like a clegg, and was very angry he could not be heard ad infinitum. 1658 Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 936 The English [call it] a Burrel-fly, Stowt, and Breese: and also of sticking and clinging, Cleg and Clinger. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Clegs, the large grey flies which torment horses and cattle in summer. ‘He sticks like a cleg.’ 1872 Daily News 24 Aug., For animals of their size, ‘clegs’ are exceedingly light-footed. |
b. Comb., as cleg-stung adj.
| 1808 Mayne Siller Gun in Pop. Poems Scotl. (1862) 136 Like cattle prodit with a prong, Or cleg-stung fillies. |