| 释义 |
‖ Coleoptera, n. pl. Zool.|kɒliːˈɒptərə|
Rarely in sing. coleopteron; see also prec.
[mod.L. (neut. pl.), a. Gr. κολεόπτερος sheath-winged (f. κολεός sheath + πτερόν wing), used by Aristotle to describe insects of the beetle kind.]
A large and important order of insects, distinguished by having the anterior pair of wings converted into elytra or hard sheaths which cover the other pair when not in use; the Beetles. (See beetle n.2 1.)
1763Dict. Arts & Sc. I. 659 Coleoptera..an order of insects..known in English by the general name of beetles. 1873Geikie Gt. Ice Age xxvii. 375 Some of the coleoptera described would seem to be now extinct. 1875Houghton Sk. Brit. Insects 155 The Strepsipteron has certain characters in common with a coleopteron.
b. Formerly applied to the elytra of beetles.
(Spelt coleoptra in Kirby and Spence.)
1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xlvi. IV. 333 Explanat. Terms, Coleoptra, the two elytra spoken of together. Ibid. xlviii. IV. 439 The older naturalists..would call it ‘the coccinella with red coleoptra, having seven black dots’. |