Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to or having the characters of the Collembola.
  • noun One of the Collembola.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any insect of the order Collembola; the springtails

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of numerous minute wingless primitive insects possessing a special abdominal appendage that allows the characteristic nearly perpetual springing pattern; found in soil rich in organic debris or on the surface of snow or water

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[coll(o)– + Greek embolos, peg, stopper; see embolus.]

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Examples

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  • Springtail; Any of various small wingless insects of the order Collembola, having abdominal appendages that act as springs to catapult them through the air. Also called collembolan.

    October 31, 2007

  • Wow. I wonder what it would be like to have abdominal appendages that act as springs to catapult me through the air...

    October 31, 2007

  • You'd beat rush hour traffic, no doubt.

    October 31, 2007