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.
It were better to be an owl than a strong-eyed apteryx.
From Stephen Archer and Other Tales by MacDonald, George
Neither the apteryx nor the manchot fly any more than the ostrich.
From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by Rameur, E.
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)
They are allied to the apteryx and the ostrich.
From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section M, N, and O by Project Gutenberg
Some of the largest vertebrae, tibiae, and femora equal in magnitude the most gigantic previously known, while others are not larger than the corresponding bones of the living apteryx.
From COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 by Humboldt, Alexander von
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.
