‖n. pl. [ NL. aptera, fr. Gr. &unr_; without wings; 'a priv. + &unr_; wing, &unr_; to fly. ] (Zool.) Insects without wings, constituting the seventh Linnæn order of insects, an artificial group, which included Crustacea, spiders, centipeds, and even worms. These animals are now placed in several distinct classes and orders. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. (Arch.) Without lateral columns; -- applied to buildings which have no series of columns along their sides, but are either prostyle or amphiprostyle, and opposed to peripteral. R. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]
(n) shrub or small tree of New Zealand and Chile having pendulous racemes of tubular golden-yellow flowers; yields a hard strong wood, Syn. Sophora tetraptera