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bastard wing

American  

noun

Ornithology.

  1. alula.

bastard wing British  

noun

  1. Also called: alula.  a tuft of feathers attached to the first digit of a bird, distinct from the wing feathers attached to the other digits and the ulna

"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

Etymology

Origin of bastard wing

First recorded in 1765–75

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.