apteryx Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun nocturnal flightless bird of New Zealand having a long neck and stout legs; only surviving representative of the order Apterygiformes
    kiwi.

WordNet

Ap"te*ryx noun
Etymology
Gr. priv. + wing. Cf. Aptera.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) 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.

Webster 1913