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apteryx

[ap-tuh-riks]
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noun
  1. kiwi(def 1).
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Origin of apteryx

1805–15; < New Latin: the genus name, equivalent to Greek a- a-6 + -pteryx, adj. use of ptéryx wing
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for apteryx

Historical Examples

  • It is this bird which is also known under the name of the "apteryx."

    Celebrated Travels and Travellers

    Jules Verne

  • The New Zealand "kiwi," known to naturalists as the apteryx.

  • But with the cassowary, the emu, or the apteryx matters are very different.

    Birds in Flight

    W. P. Pycraft

  • Neither the apteryx nor the manchot fly any more than the ostrich.

  • The Apteryx, the wingless bird of New Zealand, belongs to this order.

British Dictionary definitions for apteryx

apteryx

noun
  1. another name for kiwi (def. 1)
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin: wingless creature; see apterous
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012