/deuhr map"teuhr euhn/ , adj.
1. Also, dermapterous . belonging or pertaining to the insect order Dermaptera, comprising the earwigs.
n.
2. any of numerous brown to black, small to medium-sized nocturnal insects of the order Dermaptera, widely distributed in warm, moist areas, characterized by a slender, elongated, flattened body with pincerlike appendages at the tail end of the abdomen.
[ 1860-65; Dermapter ( a ) (irreg. dermóptera (see DERMOPTERAN), or a deliberate alter. of Dermoptera to keep the taxa distinct) + -AN ]