Definition of ratite
: a bird with a flat breastbone
especially
: any of various mostly flightless birds (such as an ostrich, rhea, emu, moa, or kiwi) with small or rudimentary wings and no keel on the sternum that are probably of polyphyletic origin and are assigned to a number of different orders
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for ratite
The first known use of ratite was in 1874
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