Underwing

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The lower surface of a bird's wing, usually covered by feathers and often differing in color or pattern from the upper surface; a moth belonging to a group characterized by brightly colored hindwings hidden beneath duller forewings; a term used in describing the hidden part of an aircraft wing located beneath the main upper surface
2. The underside area of a wing found in birds and insects, typically visible only in flight and sometimes marked by distinctive colors; a nocturnal moth known for its contrasting hindwing coloration concealed by more camouflaged forewings; a descriptor for the bottom surface portion of an aeronautical wing structure
3. Referring to the ventral side of an avian wing that often displays unique plumage for identification; a category of moths with vivid hindwings hidden under a less conspicuous forewing; terminology indicating the beneath part of an airplane wing essential for aerodynamic functions

Etymology: "Underwing" is a plain compound: "under" joined to "wing." Both parts are very old English words. "Under" comes from Old English "under," which descends from Proto-Germanic "under," and "wing" comes from Middle English "winge," which entered English from Old Norse "vængr" and displaced the native Old English "feðer"-based terms for the wing as a limb. The combination is transparent in meaning: it names the underside of a wing, the surface facing down when a bird, bat or insect is in flight or at rest. Because the word is built from two ordinary parts rather than borrowed or coined from a classical root, its history is simply the history of its components, joined in English.

Synonyms: beneath wing, lower wing, subwing, underwing area

Antonyms: upperwing, overwing, top wing