pterodactyl

English

Etymology

From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”).

Pronunciation
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌtɛɹəˈdæktl̩/, /ˌtɛɹəˈdæktɪl/

Noun

pterodactyl (plural pterodactyls)

  1. (paleontology) A pterosaur in the genus Pterodactylus.
  2. (informal) Any pterosaur.
    • 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World‎:
      He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.

Translations
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