A Greek mosquito is a kounoupi. In Ancient Greek the word was konops = mosquito and from it came konopeion, a net that those who could afford it (think Persian kings, Alexander and other potentates) had cast over their sleeping couches. A mosquito net, you see; a canopy.
In time the word became applied to the couch itself, and eventually it became French for a superior kind of sofa. The word is still used in that sense, and if you want, you can buy a canapé sofa.
And then it got applied to an elegant snack, made of a small piece of bread or similar, with a delicate morsel on top, metaphorically like a person sitting on a sofa. So the word for mosquito has come to mean a tasty bite.
The Mosquito and the Tasty Bite
Why is a mosquito like a canapé?
A Greek mosquito is a kounoupi. In Ancient Greek the word was konops = mosquito and from it came konopeion, a net that those who could afford it (think Persian kings, Alexander and other potentates) had cast over their sleeping couches. A mosquito net, you see; a canopy.
In time the word became applied to the couch itself, and eventually it became French for a superior kind of sofa. The word is still used in that sense, and if you want, you can buy a canapé sofa.
And then it got applied to an elegant snack, made of a small piece of bread or similar, with a delicate morsel on top, metaphorically like a person sitting on a sofa. So the word for mosquito has come to mean a tasty bite.