alula
Americannoun
plural
alulae-
Also called spurious wing. Also called bastard wing. the group of three to six small, rather stiff feathers growing on the first digit, pollex, or thumb of a bird's wing.
-
a membranous lobe at the base of each wing of a dipterous insect.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alula
1765–75; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin āl ( a ) wing + -ula -ule
Vocabulary lists containing alula
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.
We make our way among a density of exotic plants, an endangered Hawaiian plant called alula, a cacao tree, conifers and vines that trap insects.
From Time Magazine Archive
They have a movable feather called an "alula," which usually rests against the leading edge.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then it opens a slot by moving the alula.
From Time Magazine Archive
Alulet: Diptera: the lobe at basal posterior part of wing; = alar appendage; posterior lobe: and has been used as = alula.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.
Spuri�, spū′ri-ē, n.pl. the bastard quills forming the alula in birds.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
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.
