dipterous

[ dip-ter-uhs ]

adjective

1. 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.
2. Botany. having two winglike appendages, as seeds or stems.

dipterous

/ ˈdɪptərəs /

adjective

1. Alsodipteran 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
2. botany having two winglike parts

   a dipterous seed

Other Words From

• non·dipter·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dipterous¹

1765–75; < New Latin dipterus < Greek dípteros; Diptera, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of dipterous¹

C18: from New Latin, from Greek dipteros, from di- two + pteros wing

Example Sentences

Especially since he was positive for three of the four rounds; a dipterous -1.5 strokes gained/off-the-tee in Day 3 really skews his numbers.

From Golf Digest

The team rotates the fly so that it roasts evenly, turning from a golden dipterous brown to a deep smoky grey.

From Nature

Sepsis, sep′sis, n. putridity, rot: a genus of dipterous insects.

From Project Gutenberg

Gnat, nat, n. a genus of dipterous insects of numerous species, esp. abundant in marshy districts—the female lives on the blood of animals.—n.

From Project Gutenberg

They come into the world in the form of smooth, ovate bodies, much resembling ordinary dipterous pupæ, but as Leuckart has shown,11 they are true, though abnormal, larvæ.

From Project Gutenberg