bristletail

Definition

Any of various small, active six-legged arthropods that have two or three bristles at the ends of their abdomens and that do not have wings. These were formerly classified together in the insect subclass Apterygota or the order Thysanura but are no longer considered closely related:

Etymology

Calque of translingual Thysanura, as Ancient Greek θύσανος (thúsanos, “bristle”) + Ancient Greek οὐρᾱ́ (ourā́, “tail”). By surface analysis, bristle + tail.

Related Words