Adjacent Words

springtail definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of numerous minute wingless primitive insects possessing a special abdominal appendage that allows the characteristic nearly perpetual springing pattern; found in soil rich in organic debris or on the surface of snow or water [syn: collembolan, springtail]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: circa 1797 any of an order (Collembola) of small primitive wingless insects that exhibit incomplete metamorphosis and usually possess a furcula used for jumping — called also collembolan

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. any wingless insect of the order Collembola, leaping by means of a springlike caudal part.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Springtail Spring"tail`, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small apterous insects belonging to the order Thysanura. They have two elastic caudal stylets which can be bent under the abdomen and then suddenly extended like a spring, thus enabling them to leap to a considerable distance. See Collembola, and Podura.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pintail Pin"tail`, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) A northern duck (Dafila acuta), native of both continents. The adult male has a long, tapering tail. Called also gray duck, piketail, piket-tail, spike-tail, split-tail, springtail, sea pheasant, and gray widgeon. 2. (Zo["o]l.) The sharp-tailed grouse of the great plains and Rocky Mountains (Pedioc[ae]tes phasianellus); -- called also pintailed grouse, pintailed chicken, springtail, and sharptail.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pintail Pin"tail`, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) A northern duck (Dafila acuta), native of both continents. The adult male has a long, tapering tail. Called also gray duck, piketail, piket-tail, spike-tail, split-tail, springtail, sea pheasant, and gray widgeon. 2. (Zo["o]l.) The sharp-tailed grouse of the great plains and Rocky Mountains (Pedioc[ae]tes phasianellus); -- called also pintailed grouse, pintailed chicken, springtail, and sharptail.