Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The posterior part of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers grow.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In ornithology, the rump; the terminal section of the body, represented by the caudal vertebræ, into which the tail-feathers are inserted; also, the upper surface of this part, or terminal section of the notæum, with limits not defined. See cuts under
bird and elæodochon.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Anat.) The prominence at the posterior extremity of a bird's body, which supports the feathers of the tail; the rump; -- sometimes called
pope's nose .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
posterior part of abird 's body from which the tail feathers grow
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[New Latin ūropygium, from Greek ouropugion : ouro-, tail; see uro– + pugē, rump.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Mediaeval Latin, from Ancient Greek οὐροπύγιον (ouropugion, "tail feathers").
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Examples
-
A range of short brown stiff feathers, about six inches long, fixed in the _uropygium_, is the real tail, and serves as the fulcrum to prop the train, which is long and top-heavy, when set on end.
The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 Gilbert White 1756
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The crown of the head, the throat, the ear-coverts, and the eyes have usually distinct tints in all highly coloured birds; the region of the furcula has often a distinct patch of colour, as have the pectoral muscles, the uropygium or root of the tail, and the under tail-coverts. [
Darwinism (1889) Alfred Russel Wallace 1868
reesetee commented on the word uropygium
The fleshy hindmost part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow. Note: Fans of callipygian may enjoy the fact that the second part of both words derives from the same root: the Greek pugē, "buttocks." :-)
November 15, 2007