apteryx

[ap-tuh-riks]

noun

kiwi(def 1).

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 of apteryx

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.
In Search of the Castaways
Jules Verne
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 Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6
E. Rameur
The Apteryx, the wingless bird of New Zealand, belongs to this order.
Natural History in Anecdote
Various

British Dictionary definitions for apteryx

apteryx

noun

another name for kiwi (def. 1)

Word Origin for apteryx

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