Meanings
plural pygostyles
- The plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds, formed from fused vertebrae.
Aderyn the Bird Queen sat down; her pygostyle engaged a hard wooden bottom.
1971, Anthony Burgess, M/F, Penguin, published 2004, page 158Synonyms: parson's nose, ploughshare bone, pope's nose, sultan's nose
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds, formed from fused vertebrae.
Origin
- Ancient Greekστῦλος“column”
- Englishpygostyle
From English pygo- + Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “column”). By surface analysis, pygo- + -style.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French pygostyle
- pygostylethe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds
German Pygostyl
- Pygostylthe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds
Irish pígistíl
- pígistílthe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds
Spanish pigóstilo
- pigóstilothe plate supporting the tail-feathers in birds
Cite this entry
pygostyle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pygostyle
“pygostyle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pygostyle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pygostyle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pygostyle.
Source: pygostyle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.