Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GNAT, n. [nat; Sax. gnæt, Qu. Gr. κωνωψ.]

1. A name applied to several insects, of the genus Culex. Their mouth is formed by a flexible sheath, inclosing bristles pointed like stings. The sting is a tube containing five or six spiculae of exquisite fineness, dentated or edged. The most troublesome of this genus is the musketoe. Encyc. Cyc.
2. Any thing proverbially small. Ye blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel. Matth. xxiii.