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

Notice of a case in which the larvæ of a dipterous insect, supposed to be Anthomyia canicularis, Meig., were expelled in large quantities from the human intestines.

From Insects and Diseases A Popular Account of the Way in Which Insects may Spread or Cause some of our Common Diseases by Doane, Rennie Wilbur

In animals galls occur mostly on or under the skin of living mammals and birds, and are produced by Acaridea, and by dipterous insects of the genus Oestrus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

Diopsis, dī-op′sis, n. a genus of dipterous insects, of the fly family.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

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

Zimb, zimb, n. an Abyssinian dipterous insect, like the tsetse, hurtful to cattle.

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