Bristletail
//ˈbɹɪsəlˌteɪl// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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:; jumping bristletails in the insect order Archaeognatha
- 2 small wingless insect with a long bristlelike tail wordnet
- 3 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:; insects in the order Zygentoma such as silverfish and firebrats
- 4 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:; two-pronged bristletails in the hexapod order Diplura
Etymology
Calque of translingual Thysanura, as Ancient Greek θύσανος (thúsanos, “bristle”) + Ancient Greek οὐρᾱ́ (ourā́, “tail”). By surface analysis, bristle + tail.
Related phrases
More for "bristletail"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.