apterium

[ap-teer-ee-uhm]

noun

Ornithology.

plural

apteria 

1. one of the featherless portions of the skin of a bird.

Other Word Forms

• apterial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of apterium¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1865–70; a- ⁶, pter-, -ium

Example Sentences

But, the male loses most of the down feathers of the ventral apterium.

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