apterous
Americanadjective
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Zoology. wingless, as some insects.
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Botany. without membranous expansions, as a stem.
adjective
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(of insects) without wings, as silverfish and springtails
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without winglike expansions, as some plant stems, seeds, and fruits
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of apterous
First recorded in 1765–75, apterous is from the Greek word ápteros wingless. See a- 6, -pterous
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.
If we arrange the latter arbitrarily in the order of their size there will be an almost complete series beginning with the normal wings and ending with those of apterous flies.
From A Critique of the Theory of Evolution by Morgan, Thomas Hunt
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.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 10 "Echinoderma" to "Edward" by Various
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.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various
Lowei, Woll., of a more adaptive nature than its allies, 122.Tarus, always apterous in Madeira, 82.—— lineatus, Schönh., assumes a distinct state in Madeira, 65.Telephorus testaceus, Linn., its variability in Lundy Island, 59.Thompson,
From On the Variation of Species, with Especial Reference to the Insecta ; Followed by an Inquiry into the Nature of Genera by Wollaston, Thomas Vernon
Perhaps, however, the name may only signify a large terrestrial biting apterous insect, surpassing the ant in size and predatory habits.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various
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.
