Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small joint in the middle of a bird's wing, homologous with the thumb and bearing three or four quill-like feathers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In ornithology, the winglet, bastard wing, or ala spuria of a bird; the packet of small feathers which grows upon the so-called thumb of a bird's wing.
- In entomology: The small membranous appendage or scale situated at the base of each wing of many dipterous insects, above the halteres or poisers.
- A similar appendage beneath each elytron of some water-beetles. Also called
alulet and cucilleron.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A false or bastard wing. See under
bastard .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Bastard wing . A smallprojection on theanterior edge of thewing on some birds.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun scalelike structure between the base of the wing and the halter of a two-winged fly
- noun tuft of small stiff feathers on the first digit of a bird's wing
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Viki remembers the mysterious figure in the dark calling her 'alula' and, as she does some research, the first of a series of startling events that will change her life forever unfold.
News 2009
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But the alula opened properly and I decided I must have been overcontrolling, easy to do with Storer-Gulls; they're extremely maneuverable.
The Past Through Tomorrow Heinlein, Robert A. 1967
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They're lovely -- titanalloy struts as light and strong as bird bones, tension-compensated wrist-pinion and shoulder joints, natural action in the alula slots, and automatic flap action in stalling.
The Past Through Tomorrow Heinlein, Robert A. 1967
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While it was cycling I opened my left wing and thumbed the alula control -- I had noticed a tendency to sideslip the last time I was airborne.
The Past Through Tomorrow Heinlein, Robert A. 1967
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Two years ago a boy who had just graduated from orange wings tried it ... knocked off his left alula and primaries on a strut -- went fluttering and spinning down two thousand feet and crashed.
The Past Through Tomorrow Heinlein, Robert A. 1967
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Lobulus: the partly separated portion of the wings of some flies and of secondaries in some Hymenoptera: also used as = alula; q.v. Lobus: of maxilla = galea; q.v. Locomotion: organs of, are legs and wings.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
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Axillary lobe: the sclerite covering the base of the wing in Diptera; see also alula and posterior lobe.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
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Alulet: Diptera: the lobe at basal posterior part of wing; = alar appendage; posterior lobe: and has been used as = alula.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
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Aileron: the scale covering the base of primaries in some insects; see tegulae in Diptera = alula and squama, q.v. Air-sacs or vesicles: pouch-like expansions of tracheal tubes in heavy insects, capable of inflation and supposed to lessen specific gravity.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
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Axillary excision: = a. incision, q.v. Axillary incision: Diptera; an incision on inner margin of wing, near base, which separates the alula from the main part.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith
reesetee commented on the word alula
A small group of feathers attached to the first "finger" (at the bend) of a bird's wing; they reduce turbulence and drag and assist with "braking" and "steering."
September 25, 2007
fbharjo commented on the word alula
...and a palindrome on wings to fly
February 14, 2012