Alate

Word of the Day for Tuesday, January 17, 2012

alate \EY-leyt\, adjective:

1. Having wings; winged.
2. Having membranous expansions like wings.

noun:
1. The winged form of an insect when both winged and wingless forms occur in the species.

Vainly a few diehard physicists pointed out that wings are of no propulsive help in airless void, that alate flight is possible only where there are wind currents to lift and carry.
-- Robert Silverberg, Earth is the Strangest Planet

There are no words branded into this gate, only the shape of a large bird with its wings stretched out over the width of the road like an alate protector.
-- Jenny Siler, Easy Money

Alate is comprised of the Latin roots āla meaning "wing" and the suffix -ate which was used in Latin to make a word an adjective (like separate) but in English came to be used to create a verb out of a noun (like agitate).

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/