alula
Americannoun
plural
alulae-
Also called spurious wing. Also called bastard wing. the group of three to six small, rather stiff feathers growing on the first digit, pollex, or thumb of a bird's wing.
-
a membranous lobe at the base of each wing of a dipterous insect.
noun
Other Word Forms
- alular adjective
Etymology
Origin of alula
1765–75; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin āl ( a ) wing + -ula -ule
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Well, they look exactly like gulls with lengthened legs and… no alulae.
From Scientific American
Lobulus: the partly separated portion of the wings of some flies and of secondaries in some Hymenoptera: also used as = alula; q.v.
From Project Gutenberg
But how can you be absolutely sure that they don’t have alulae in the reconstruction?
From Scientific American
Alulet: Diptera: the lobe at basal posterior part of wing; = alar appendage; posterior lobe: and has been used as = alula.
From Project Gutenberg
Axillary incision: Diptera; an incision on inner margin of wing, near base, which separates the alula from the main part.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.