gadfly

Origin: From , in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from , gadde, borrowed from , from , further etymology uncertain. Sense 2.1.1 (“person who upsets the status quo”) may allude to the Apology by the Greek philosopher Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 ), where he describes Socrates ( – 399 ) acting as a goad to the Athenian political scene like a gadfly () arousing a sluggish horse. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).