Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One of the stiff main feathers of a bird's tail, used to control the direction of flight.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as rectoress.
- n. In ornithology, a tail-feather; one of the long or large quill-feathers of a bird's tail: so called from its use in directing or steering the course of a bird in flight, like a rudder. The rectrices are comparable to the similar large flight-feathers of the wing, called
remiges . In the Saururæ, or Jurassic birds with long lizard-like bony tail, the rectrices are biserially or distichously arranged in a row on each side of the caudal vertebræ. In all modern birds they are set together in a fan-like manner upon the pygostyle. (SeeEurhipidura .) In a few birds they are rudimentary, as in grebes. The most frequent number by far is twelve, which prevails (with few anomalous exceptions) throughout the great order Passeres, and also in very many other birds of different orders. In many picarian birds the number is ten; in a very few eight. In various water-birds the rectrices run up to higher numbers, twenty-four being probably the maximum. There is normally always an even number, these feathers being paired. In size, shape, and texture they are endlessly varied, giving rise to all the different shapes a bird's tail presents.
Wiktionary
- n. A governess; a rectoress.
- n. A flight feather on the tails of birds, used for directional control.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A governess; a rectoress.
- n. (Zoöl.) One of the quill feathers of the tail of a bird.
Etymologies
- Latin feminine form of rector, one who directs. (Wiktionary)
- Latin rēctrīx, feminine of rēctor, director; see rector. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“_P.c. amoenissima_, and the black at the base of the inner webs of the outermost rectrix does not extend beyond the tip of the under tail coverts.”
“Representatives of _P.c. amoenissima_ have black at the base of the inner web of the outermost rectrix more extended, usually showing beyond the tip of the under tail coverts.”
“The outermost rectrix of No. 31633 is wholly white; the second rectrix is nearly as white.”
“On 30th July on the left side the central rectrix and the first and second posterior coverts were still growing, on the right side the central rectrix was also growing, but the first and second posterior coverts had ceased growth and formed their quills.”
“The first right central rectrix in cock B was accidentally pulled out on”
“On 2nd September the left central rectrix was almost at the end of its growth, the right had ceased to grow”
“The singular form of retrices is rectrix which comes from the Latin word oar used to mean rower.”
“In order to find the equation of thefcab of prefTures, draw the right line K I parallel to the di - rectrix £ G, confidered as the axis to which the opdi« nates are perpendicular: let the preffure K £ zap and the abfcifTa £ L = K 1 = at.”
“3 Let the line HP, which meets the di - rectrix in H, cut a conic feftion in $ny point P; join SP, draw HS 7* through the focus, and make the angle TSp equal to the angle HSP; then if HP, Sp «be produced till they meet in p, the point p will be in the conic fe&ion, or in the oppofite fee - tion.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rectrix’.
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phrontistery-r
from phrontistery.info
raad, rabanna, rabbet, rabble, Rabelaisian, rabic, racemation, raceme, racemiferous, rach, rachidian, rachiometer and 514 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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It means what?
Definitions you'd never surmise from their spelling.
vexillologist, biocide, earworm, moon carrots, logorrhea, uberous, unguiculate, uropoietic, reciprocornous, recrudescence, rectrix, succorrhoea and 39 more...
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-trix
denoting a woman (where a executrix, dominatrix
man would be denoted -tor)executrix, dominatrix, persecutrix, obstetrix, rixatrix, creatrix, aviatrix, meretrix, victrix, prosecutrix, directrix, genitrix and 11 more...
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Interesting Scrabble words
Interesting words worth @ least 15 points.
smoochy, zareba, hyphal, djellaba, cloque, pyxidium, qindarka, squiffy, howbeit, chthonic, quinta, azimuthal and 262 more...
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Words that make you go hmmmm...
Interesting words you probably won't hear in your day-to-day.
maxwell, mooncalf, quagga, glaikit, musquash, lingam, haruspex, qindarka, chthonic, ipomoea, azimuthal, valuta and 304 more...
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Things Avian
Wordies relating to birdies. :-)
calidrid, corvid, avian, avifauna, beak, brood, aerie, altricial, albumen, winged, wattle, covey and 217 more...
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R is for restless
ratten, randem, reast, remontado, rhineurynter, raith, rheid, rhonchisonant, rhochrematics, rhyton, riem, ridotto and 29 more...
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Belletristic amusements...
thurl, dulcet, felicity, halcyon, arabesque, alacrity, masque, resplendent, coquettish, salacious, libertine, chaste and 25 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for rectrix.

sionnach Not to be confused with the pejorative (and sexist*) rixatrix.
* It's a pretty safe bet nobody referred to Attila as "a scold". Jan 18, 2009
avivamagnolia ~defined as a "female ruler," oddly enough, by one of those "worthless words" websites...can't find it now Jan 17, 2009
reesetee Just thank heavens you don't own any. Oct 12, 2007
chained_bear Eew. It doesn't *sound* like that's what it is. Oct 12, 2007
reesetee Flight feather in the tails of most modern birds. (Plural is rectrices.) Oct 12, 2007