enantiornithine
/ɪˌnæntiˈɔː(ɹ)nɪθaɪn/
enantiornithine noun: any of an extinct group of protobirds of the Enantiornithes.
Noun
enantiornithine (plural enantiornithines)
- Any of an extinct group of protobirds of the Enantiornithes.
- The enantiornithines were rather diverse in form and size, so it is not clear if Junornis was typical or unusual but it does mean that this form of flight was one of a number being explored by early birds.2017 October 25, Dave Hone, The Guardian
- The lineage that led to all living birds is known as the ornithuromorphs. But it was the other branch, called the enantiornithines, that dominated the skies for tens of millions of years.2023 June 3, Carl Zimmer, “How Did Birds First Take Off?”, in The New York Times
- Synonyms:
- enantiornithean
Adjective
enantiornithine (comparative more enantiornithine, superlative most enantiornithine)
- Pertaining to the Enantiornithes.
- But enantiornithine birds seem to have developed feathers in a radically different way, as Dr. O’Connor and her colleagues argued in a recent study. They hatched with bare bodies but with fully feathered wings.2023 June 3, Carl Zimmer, “How Did Birds First Take Off?”, in The New York Times
Synonyms of enantiornithine
Forms of enantiornithine
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | enantiornithines |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more enantiornithine |
| superlative | most enantiornithine |
Origin of enantiornithine
From enanti- + + Ancient Greek ὄρνιθος (órnithos, “bird”) + -ine.
Questions about enantiornithine
- What does enantiornithine mean?
- Enantiornithine means any of an extinct group of protobirds of the Enantiornithes.
- What part of speech is enantiornithine?
- Enantiornithine can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce enantiornithine?
- Enantiornithine is pronounced /ɪˌnæntiˈɔː(ɹ)nɪθaɪn/.
- What is the plural of enantiornithine?
- The plural of enantiornithine is enantiornithines.
Words near enantiornithine in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: enantiornithine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “enantiornithine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/enantiornithine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.