apterous

American  

[ap-ter-uhs] / ˈæp tər əs /

adjective

1. Zoology. wingless, as some insects.

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

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apterous British  

/ ˈæptərəs /

adjective

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

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

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Other Word Forms

• apterism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of apterous

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

apterous

Mr. Westwood in his Modern Classification of Insects states that "the species of Gerris, Hydrometra, and Velia are mostly found perfectly apterous, though occasionally with full-sized wings."

From Darwinism (1889) by Alfred Russel Wallace

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

From On the Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects by Sir John Lubbock

Whereas the former is merely an apterous creeping grub, the latter is an insect provided with wings.

From A Cotswold Village by J. Arthur Gibbs

Moths, absence of mouth in some males; apterous female; male, prehensile use of the tarsi by; male, attracted by females; sound produced by; coloration of; sexual differences of colour in.

From The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin

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