'pterous' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'pteron,' where 'pter-' meant 'wing'.

'pterous' changed from the New Latin/scientific formation based on Greek 'pteron' combined with the English adjectival suffix '-ous', and eventually became the modern English adjective 'pterous' used in biological contexts.

Initially, it meant 'winged' in technical descriptions, and over time it has retained that core meaning of 'having wings'.