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.
Larvina: a maggot: a dipterous larva without distinct head or legs.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
Yet there is a vermin-killer, Like to thin the dipterous pest, To the farmer and the miller, Which instruction may suggest.
From Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 3, 1887 by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand
The box turtle as a host for dipterous parasites.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler
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
Eucephalous: with a well-developed head, bearing the normal appendages: applied to certain dipterous larvae.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
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.
