bristletail

[ bris-uhl-teyl ]

noun

1. any of various wingless insects of the order Thysanura, having long, bristlelike, caudal appendages, comprising the firebrats, silverfish, and machilids.

bristletail

/ ˈbrɪsəlˌteɪl /

noun

1. any primitive wingless insect of the orders Thysanura and Diplura , such as the silverfish and firebrat, having a flattened body and long tail appendages

Word History and Origins

Origin of bristletail¹

First recorded in 1700–10; bristle + tail ¹

Example Sentences

Bristletail antennae, however, did respond to odors, albeit mildly relative to fruit flies.

From Scientific American

Bristletail antennae did accommodate a high density of ionotropic receptors.

From Scientific American

The researchers scanned the bristletail genome and found no traces of ORs or Orco.

From Scientific American

Sil′ver-fir, a coniferous tree of the genus Abies, whose leaves show two silvery lines on the under side; Sil′ver-fish, a name given to the atherine, to artificially bred gold-fish, the sand-smelt, the tarpon: any species of Lepisma, a thysanurous insect—also Bristletail, Walking-fish, Silver-moth, Shiner, &c.;

From Project Gutenberg