forewing
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈfɔrˌwɪŋ/
- Specialized
- Shortly after sunset, males emerge from the soil litter, climb up into the sagebrush, and start rubbing their leathery forewings together in song.
- forewings that differ
Examples
-
The butterfly flapped its forewings gracefully as it took flight from the flower.
-
Hegge spread its forewings wide, making it appear like an angel from old Earth legends.
Fiction book (1998) -
PHOTO: Forewings that differ in length by just a fraction of a millimeter may keep a male scorpion fly from finding a mate.
Academic text (1993) -
My measurements showed, for example, that a scorpion fly's right and left forewings sometimes differed significantly in length.
Academic text (1993) -
Hegge carried its two forewings neatly draped along the back of its narrow, cylindrical body.
Fiction book (1998) -
Her Eponan friend darted away, its long, narrow forewings arcing casually in a leisurely manner.
Fiction book (2001) -
This insect has dark-brown flecks and ribbons of brown on its wings, and several white splotches on its small upper wings, called forewings.
Academic text (2000) -
The researcher measured the length of the forewings to determine the species of the insect.
-
In many insects, the forewings serve as protective covers for the more delicate hind wings.
Synonyms
1
7.8
One of the front pair of thin parts an insect uses to fly when it has four wings
The front wing on an insect with four wings, like a butterfly or beetle
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Forewing breaks into fore- meaning 'front', as in forehead, and wing, the part insects use to fly. So a forewing is the wing at the front of an insect's body.