pterodactyl
nounUS /ˌtɛɹ.əˈdæk.təl/
Etymology From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”). By surface analysis, ptero- + -dactyl.
1
A pterosaur of the genus Pterodactylus.
2
Broadly, Proscribed Any pterosaur.
- He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- Had a pterodactyl swooped down from those old-time crags, it would hardly have been out of place.1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 97:
1 more example
- Now let me tell you, Brisbane mossies in the sixties were as big as pterodactyls.1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 173:
- Derived terms
- pterodactylane, pterodactylic, pterodactyllike, pterodactyloid
- Related terms
- dactylo-, dactyly, polydactyly, syndactyly