apterous

[ap-ter-uhs]

adjective

1. Zoology.,  wingless, as some insects.

2. Botany.,  without membranous expansions, as a stem.

apterous

/ ˈæptərəs /

adjective

1. (of insects) without wings, as silverfish and springtails

2. without winglike expansions, as some plant stems, seeds, and fruits

Other Word Forms

• apterism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of apterous¹

First recorded in 1765–75, apterous is from the Greek word ápteros wingless. See a- ⁶, -pterous

Word History and Origins

Origin of apterous¹

C18: from Greek apteros wingless, from _a- ¹ + pteron wing

Example Sentences

The insect is a trifle more robust than its ordinary European representatives, and it is invariably apterous.

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It has long been known, indeed, that there are species in which certain individuals remain always apterous, while others acquire wings.

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All fruit and forest trees suffer from these curious insects, which in the female sex always remain apterous and apodal and live attached to the bark, leaf and fruit, hidden beneath variously formed scale-like coverings.

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In the autumn a single fertile egg is laid by apterous females in a crevice of the bark of the vine where it is protected during the winter.

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Wingless females of many tropical species present a close superficial resemblance to woodlice; and one interesting apterous form known as Pseudoglomeris, from the East Indies, is able to roll up like a millipede.

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