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bristletail

American  
[bris-uhl-teyl] / ˈbrɪs əlˌteɪl /

noun

  1. any of various wingless insects of the order Thysanura, having long, bristlelike, caudal appendages, comprising the firebrats, silverfish, and machilids.


bristletail British  
/ ˈbrɪsəlˌteɪl /

noun

  1. any primitive wingless insect of the orders Thysanura and Diplura , such as the silverfish and firebrat, having a flattened body and long tail appendages

"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 bristletail

First recorded in 1700–10; bristle + tail 1

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.

Bristletail antennae, however, did respond to odors, albeit mildly relative to fruit flies.

From Scientific American

Bristletail antennae did accommodate a high density of ionotropic receptors.

From Scientific American

The researchers scanned the bristletail genome and found no traces of ORs or Orco.

From Scientific American

Sil′ver-fir, a coniferous tree of the genus Abies, whose leaves show two silvery lines on the under side; Sil′ver-fish, a name given to the atherine, to artificially bred gold-fish, the sand-smelt, the tarpon: any species of Lepisma, a thysanurous insect—also Bristletail, Walking-fish, Silver-moth, Shiner, &c.;

From Project Gutenberg