a. [ F. apte, L. aptus, fr. obsolete apere to fasten, to join, to fit, akin to apisci to reach, attain: cf. Gr. &unr_; to fasten, Skr. āpta fit, fr. āp to reach attain. ]
They have always apt instruments. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]
A river . . . apt to be forded by a lamb. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]
My vines and peaches . . . were apt to have a soot or smuttiness upon their leaves and fruit. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]
This tree, if unprotected, is apt to be stripped of the leaves by a leaf-cutting ant. Lubbock. [ 1913 Webster ]
Apter to give than thou wit be to ask. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]
That lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers. F. Harrison. [ 1913 Webster ]
Live a thousand years,
I shall not find myself so apt to die. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
I find thee apt . . . Now, Hamlet, hear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. [ L. aptare. See Aptate. ] To fit; to suit; to adapt. [ Obs. ] “ To apt their places.” B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]
That our speech be apted to edification. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ LL. aptabilis, fr. L. aptare. ] Capable of being adapted. [ Obs. ] Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. [ L. aptatus, p. p. of aptare. See Apt. ] To make fit. [ Obs. ] Bailey [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. pl. [ NL. aptera, fr. Gr. &unr_; without wings;
a.
n. (Zool.) One of the Aptera. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. pl. [ NL. See Aptera. ] (Zool.) Naked spaces between the feathered areas of birds. See Pteryliæ. [ 1913 Webster ]
a.
‖n. pl. [ NL. See Apteryx. ] (Zool.) An order of birds, including the genus Apteryx. [ 1913 Webster ]