ratite
noun
rat·ite ˈra-ˌtīt 
: a bird with a flat breastbone
especially : any of various mostly flightless birds (such as an ostrich, rhea, emu, moa, or kiwi) with small or rudimentary wings and no keel on the sternum that are probably of polyphyletic origin and are assigned to a number of different orders
ratite adjective
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web At one point, researchers believed that D. stirtoni was related to other flightless ratites, like emus and ostriches. 
National Geographic, 15 May 2018 Ratites and tinamous are among the scant 3 percent of birds in which males have penises. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 3 Sep. 2016 But in all ratites aside from ostriches, only the male cares for the offspring. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 3 Sep. 2016
National Geographic, 15 May 2018 Ratites and tinamous are among the scant 3 percent of birds in which males have penises. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 3 Sep. 2016 But in all ratites aside from ostriches, only the male cares for the offspring. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 3 Sep. 2016 Word History
Etymology
ultimately from Latin ratitus marked with the figure of a raft, from ratis raft
First Known Use
1874, in the meaning defined above
- green book
- green bristle
- green bristlegrass
- green broke
- green broom
- green bulbul
- green card
- green charge
- green cheese
- green chromide
- green cinnabar
- green citrus aphid
- green cloth
- green cloverworm
- green cod
- green cormorant
- green corn
- green crab
- green dragon
- green drake
- green duck
- green earth
- green ebony
- green felt
- green fingers