dipterous
Americanadjective
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Entomology. belonging or pertaining to the order Diptera, comprising the houseflies, mosquitoes, and gnats, characterized by a single, anterior pair of membranous wings with the posterior pair reduced to small, knobbed structures.
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Botany. having two winglike appendages, as seeds or stems.
adjective
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Also: dipteran. of, relating to, or belonging to the Diptera, a large order of insects having a single pair of wings and sucking or piercing mouthparts. The group includes flies, mosquitoes, craneflies, and midges
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botany having two winglike parts
a dipterous seed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dipterous
1765–75; < New Latin dipterus < Greek dípteros; see Diptera, -ous
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.
Johnston's organ: a complex nervous structure in the basal joint of dipterous antennae.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
Myiasis: disease or injury caused by the attack of dipterous larvae.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
Death of an ornate box turtle parasitized by dipterous larvae.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler
The flies which produce the excrescences named gall-nuts, and the worms from which come the dipterous insects, so diversified in their forms, manners, and places of abode, occupy the fourth volume.
From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by William MacGillivray
Metapneustic: larva, chiefly dipterous, in which the spiracles are confined to the posterior segment.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
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