swallowtail

[ swol-oh-teyl ]

/ ˈswɒl oʊˌteɪl /

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noun

the tail of a swallow or a deeply forked tail like that of a swallow.

any of several butterflies of the genus Papilio, characterized by elongated hind wings that resemble the tail of a swallow, as P. polyxenes(black swallowtail ).Compare spicebush swallowtail, tiger swallowtail, zebra swallowtail.

tail coat.

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Origin of swallowtail

First recorded in 1535–45; swallow² + tail¹

Words nearby swallowtail

swallow, swallow dive, swallow hole, swallow one's pride, swallow one's words, swallowtail, swallow-tailed, swallow-tailed coat, swallow-tailed kite, swallow-tanager, swallowwort

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use swallowtail in a sentence

Testers found the high ankle swallowtail feature to be a bit extraneous, though the heel cup does hold the foot in place.
The Summer 2022 Carbon Trail Shoe Roundup|mmitchell|July 27, 2022|Outside Online
Chotard studies the wings of swallowtail butterflies at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Butterfly ‘tails’ might be part of an escape tactic|Jake Buehler|July 13, 2022|Science News For Students
The biologists made the fake insects by gluing real swallowtail wings to a cardboard body.
Butterfly ‘tails’ might be part of an escape tactic|Jake Buehler|July 13, 2022|Science News For Students
Chotard and her colleagues also measured how much force was needed to tear various sections of the swallowtail wing.
Butterflies may lose their ‘tails’ like lizards|Jake Buehler|June 15, 2022|Science News

Among the collected swallowtails, 65, or 47 percent, had damaged wings, all of which had at least one tail damaged.
Butterflies may lose their ‘tails’ like lizards|Jake Buehler|June 15, 2022|Science News
But her thoughts constantly reverted to "Old Swallowtail" and to Ingua.
Mary Louise in the Country|L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
"If the land brought a fair price, Old Swallowtail ought to be rich," remarked the girl.
Mary Louise in the Country|L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
Two or three times she had passed Old Swallowtail on the street, but he had not seemed to notice her.
Mary Louise in the Country|L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
The sight of one swallowtail butterfly, a big black and yellow fellow, sent the cook insane.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson
None of us possessed evening suits and some of us went so far as to denounce swallowtail coats as "undemocratic."
A Daughter of the Middle Border|Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for swallowtail

swallowtail

/ (ˈswɒləʊˌteɪl) /

noun

any of various butterflies of the genus Papilio and related genera, esp P. machaon of Europe, having a tail-like extension of each hind wing: family Papilionidae

the forked tail of a swallow or similar bird

short for swallow-tailed coat

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