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neuropteran

American

[noo-rop-ter-uhn, nyoo-] / nʊˈrɒp tər ən, nyʊ- /

adjective

neuropterous.

noun

Also neuropteron. a neuropterous insect.

neuropteran British

/ njʊˈrɒptərən /

noun

any neuropterous insect

"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

neuropteran Scientific

/ n-rŏp′tər-ən /

Any of various carnivorous insects of the order Neuroptera, having four net-veined wings and mouthparts adapted for chewing. Neuropterans include the lacewings and antlions. Formerly, the dobsonflies and alderflies, now classified as a separate order Megaloptera, and the snakeflies, now classified as the order Raphidiodea, were considered neuropterans.

Etymology

Origin of neuropteran

1835–45; < New Latin Neuropter ( a ), neuter plural of neuropterus ( neuropterous ) + -an

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.

The campodeiform larvae of many Coleoptera are indeed far more primitive than the neuropteran larvae, and suggest to us that the Coleoptera—modified as their wing-structure has become—arose very early from the primitive metabolous stock.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023