dipterous

American  

[dip-ter-uhs] / ˈdɪp tər əs /

adjective

1. 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.

2. Botany. having two winglike appendages, as seeds or stems.

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dipterous British  

/ ˈdɪptərəs /

adjective

1. 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

2. botany having two winglike parts

   a dipterous seed

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Other Word Forms

• nondipterous
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dipterous

1765–75; < New Latin dipterus < Greek dípteros; see Diptera, -ous

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dipterous

Flabs: the lobes at the tip of the dipterous mouth:= labella; q.v.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

Sepsis, sep′sis, n. putridity, rot: a genus of dipterous insects.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

They come into the world in the form of smooth, ovate bodies, much resembling ordinary dipterous pupæ, but as Leuckart has shown,11 they are true, though abnormal, larvæ.

From On the Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects by Lubbock, John, Sir

Pūpip′ara, a division of dipterous insects having pup� developed within the body of the mother.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Jaw-capsule: contains the mouth structures in those dipterous larvae in which the head is differentiated.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.