Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An area on the skin of a bird from which feathers grow.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A feather-tract; one of the sets or clumps of feathers which are inserted in definite tracts or areas in the skin of a bird, separated by apteria, or places where no feathers grow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) One of the definite areas of the skin of a bird on which feathers grow; -- contrasted with
apteria .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun ornithology One of the areas of a
bird 'sskin on whichfeathers grow.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[New Latin : Greek pteron, wing, feather; see –pter + Greek hūlē, forest, matter.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
New Latin, from Ancient Greek.
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Examples
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