apterous

American  

[ap-ter-uhs] / ˈæp tər əs /

adjective

1. Zoology. wingless, as some insects.

2. Botany. without membranous expansions, as a stem.

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apterous British  

/ ˈæptərəs /

adjective

1. (of insects) without wings, as silverfish and springtails

2. without winglike expansions, as some plant stems, seeds, and fruits

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Other Word Forms

• apterism noun

Etymology

Origin of apterous

First recorded in 1765–75, apterous is from the Greek word ápteros wingless. See a- ⁶, -pterous

Example Sentences

In the autumn a single fertile egg is laid by apterous females in a crevice of the bark of the vine where it is protected during the winter.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

Podura, pō-dū′ra, n. a genus of apterous insects—spring-tails, snow-fleas.

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

Perhaps, however, the name may only signify a large terrestrial biting apterous insect, surpassing the ant in size and predatory habits.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

It has long been known, indeed, that there are species in which certain individuals remain always apterous, while others acquire wings.

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

Helops Vulcanus, Woll., and the Ellipsodes glabratus, Fab., being also larger on that rock than is typical: all of them, however, with the exception of Notiophilus geminatus, are there, as elsewhere, apterous.

From On the Variation of Species, with Especial Reference to the Insecta ; Followed by an Inquiry into the Nature of Genera by Wollaston, Thomas Vernon