pterodactyl
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”); by surface analysis, ptero- + -dactyl.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]
pterodactyl (plural pterodactyls)
- A pterosaur of the genus Pterodactylus.
- (loosely, proscribed) Any pterosaur.
- 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.
- 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 97:
- Had a pterodactyl swooped down from those old-time crags, it would hardly have been out of place.
Related terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]informal term for any pterosaur
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Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms prefixed with ptero-
- English terms suffixed with -dactyl
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English proscribed terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:Pterosaurs