Moths and butterflies

• Tepid or pale

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. insect that in the adult state has four wings more or less covered with tiny scales [syn: lepidopterous insect , lepidopteron ] [also: lepidoptera (pl)]

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
The Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies (both called lepidopterans ). 180,000 species of Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies , 10% of the total described species of living organisms. It is one ...

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Lepidoptera \Lep`i*dop"te*ra\ (-d[o^]p"t[-e]*r[.a]), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepi`s -i`dos, a scale + ptero`n a feather, wing.] (Zo["o]l.) An order of insects, which includes the butterflies and moths. They have broad wings, covered with minute overlapping ...

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1773, "insects with four scaly wings," the biological classification that includes butterflies and moths, coined 1735 in Modern Latin by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (Karl von Linné, 1707-1778) from Greek lepido- , comb. form of lepis (genitive lepidos ...