Pterous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Possessing wings or wing-like extensions, as certain insects, birds, or other creatures do
2. Describing an organism that bears wings or flat, wing-shaped structures on its body
3. Characterized by the presence of wings, especially in insects and similar winged animals

Etymology: Pterous is an adjective meaning "winged," and it survives mostly as the ending of scientific compounds. It comes from the Greek "pteron," meaning "wing," which is related to the Greek verb "petesthai," "to fly." The Greek adjective "pteros" formed compounds with the same sense, so a creature with two wings could be "dipteros." Later scientists borrowed these forms for naming insect orders: Diptera (flies, with one pair of functional wings), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies, "scale-wings"), and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants, "membrane-wings"). The same Greek root appears in "pterodactyl," which combines "pteron" with "daktylos," "finger," for the long fingers that supported the wing membrane of the flying reptile. The English word is a modern coinage built from Greek parts, not a term the ancient Greeks themselves used.