Meanings
plural halteres · alternative halter
- biologyA small knobbed structure in some two-winged insects, one of a pair that are flapped rapidly and function as accelerometers to maintain stability in flight.
Whenever the fly changes direction at an angle to the hinge, the shaking bends the halteres at their base and turns them into a gyroscope.
2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 166
Synonyms & antonyms
nouneither of the rudimentary hind wings of dipterous insects; used for maintaining equilibrium during flight
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἁλτῆρες“weights held in the hand to give an impetus in leaping”
- Englishhaltere
From Ancient Greek ἁλτῆρες (haltêres, “weights held in the hand to give an impetus in leaping”). Note that in the original Greek, there seems to have been no singular for ἁλτῆρες (haltêres), and some authorities maintain that halteres is a plurale tantum, but in English entomological usage, haltere sometimes appears as a back-formation. Sometimes the singular halter is used instead, but this may lead to confusion with other, unrelated meanings of halter.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch halter, kolfje
- haltersmall knobbed structure
- kolfjesmall knobbed structure
French balancier
- balanciersmall knobbed structure
German Haltere, Schwingkölbchen
- Halteresmall knobbed structure
- Schwingkölbchensmall knobbed structure
Italian bilanciere
- bilancieresmall knobbed structure
Portuguese balancin, haltere
- balancinsmall knobbed structure
- halteresmall knobbed structure
Russian жужжа́льце
- жужжа́льце (žužžálʹce)small knobbed structure
Spanish halterio
- halteriosmall knobbed structure
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
haltere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haltere
“haltere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haltere. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “haltere,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/haltere.
Source: haltere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.