plecopteran

noun

ple·​cop·​ter·​an pli-ˈkäp-tə-rən 

: stone fly

plecopteran adjective

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Plecoptera, order name (from Greek plékein "to plait, braid" + -o- -o- + -ptera, neuter plural of -pteros "having a wing [of the kind specified]," derivative of pterón "wing") + -an entry 1; so called from the intricate venation of the wings — more at ply entry 3, feather

Note: The taxon was introduced by the German zoologist Hermann Burmeister (1807-92) in Handbuch der Entomologie, 2. Band, 2 Abtheilung (Berlin, 1839), p. 863.

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above