[rat-ahyt] 
| 1. | having a flat, unkeeled sternum, as an ostrich, cassowary, emu, or moa. |
| 2. | a bird having a ratite breastbone. |
| rat·ite (rāt'īt') adj. Relating to or being any of a group of flightless birds having a flat breastbone without the keellike prominence characteristic of most flying birds. n. A ratite bird, such as the ostrich or emu. [From Latin ratītus, marked with the figure of a raft, from ratis, raft.] |
aɪt