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Glite Dictionary
fore wing

fore wing

7.8
One of the front pair of thin parts an insect uses to fly when it has four wings
  • noun
  • /fɔr wɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ala delantera
  • The butterfly's fore wing is larger than its hind wing.

Examples

  • The dragonfly's fore wings are usually narrower than its hind wings.

  • Many beetles have hardened fore wings that protect their delicate hind wings underneath.

  • During flight, a butterfly uses both its fore wings and hind wings for balance.

  • Many insects have two fore wings and two hind wings.

  • During flight, a butterfly uses both its fore wings and hind wings for balance.

  • Many beetles have hardened fore wings that protect their delicate hind wings underneath.

  • The dragonfly's fore wings are usually narrower than its hind wings.

Synonyms

forewing
vsfore wing
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A front wing on insects with four wings

is the same meaning but written as two separate words

Surface Forms

fore wing singular
fore wings plural

Morphology

fore + wing

The meaning is directly compositional: 'fore' denotes the front position and 'wing' denotes the flight appendage, so 'fore wing' straightforwardly means the front wing. This is a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern for body parts (e.g. 'ala anterior'/'anterior wing'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun fore wing comes from the parts fore (meaning 'front') and wing, and it names the pair of wings at the front of an insect. These front wings help steer and often protect the back wings, so the term means 'the front wings' today.