a. 1. (Zool.) Destitute of wings; apteral; as, apterous insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Destitute of winglike membranous expansions, as a stem or petiole; -- opposed to alate. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. aptera, fr. Gr. &unr_; without wings; 'a priv. + &unr_; wing, &unr_; to fly. ] (Zool.) Insects without wings, constituting the seventh Linnæn order of insects, an artificial group, which included Crustacea, spiders, centipeds, and even worms. These animals are now placed in several distinct classes and orders. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. (Zool.) Apterous. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) Without lateral columns; -- applied to buildings which have no series of columns along their sides, but are either prostyle or amphiprostyle, and opposed to peripteral. R. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) One of the Aptera. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Aptera. ] (Zool.) Naked spaces between the feathered areas of birds. See Pteryliæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Apteryx. ] (Zool.) An order of birds, including the genus Apteryx. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a ratite bird order: flightless ground birds having vestigial wings and long bills and small eyes: kiwis.
Syn. -- order Apterygiformes [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ Gr. 'a priv. + pte`ryx wing. Cf. Aptera. ] (Zool.) A genus of New Zealand birds about the size of a hen, with only short rudiments of wings, armed with a claw and without a tail; the kiwi. It is allied to the gigantic extinct moas of the same country. Five species are known. [ 1913 Webster ]