apteryx
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of apteryx
1805–15; < New Latin: the genus name, equivalent to Greek a- a- 6 + -pteryx, adj. use of ptéryx wing
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.
I mean the apteryx, that eccentric, wingless recluse which hides itself in the scrub jungles of New Zealand.
From Concerning Animals and Other Matters by Aitken, Edward Hamilton
I don't—and don't wish to—believe in the apteryx profession; that's all I must say.
From Born in Exile by Gissing, George
Allied to these are the four species of Kiwi or apteryx, still existing there.
From More Science From an Easy Chair by Lankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
In short, the British Innkeeper, as these writers represent him, figures as a sort of human apteryx, who supports himself entirely by the length of his bill.
From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various
This is not precisely typical of the gallinaceous species; but it is none the less a phenomenon which might be mentioned in a comparison with the apteryx.
From The Land of Contrasts A Briton's View of His American Kin by Muirhead, James F. (James Fullarton)
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.
