pterodactyl

pterodactyl
\ \ [19] Pterodactyl means literally ‘wing-finger’. It was coined in the early 19th century, as Latin pterodactylus, from Greek pterónwing’ (source of English helicopter, and descendant of the Indo-European base *pet- ‘fly’, which also produced English feather) and dáktulosfinger’ (source of English date the fruit).
\ \ Cf.DATE, FEATHER

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Pterodactyl — Pter o*dac tyl, n. [Gr. ? a wing + ? finger, toe: cf. F. pt[ e]rodactyle.] (Paleon.) An extinct flying reptile; one of the Pterosauria. See Illustration in Appendix. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pterodactyl — 1830, from Fr. ptérodactyle (1821), from the Modern Latin genus name, from Gk. pteron wing (from PIE root *pet fly; see PETITION (Cf. petition)) + daktylos finger (see DACTYL (Cf. dactyl)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • pterodactyl — ► NOUN ▪ a pterosaur of the late Jurassic period, with a long slender head and neck. ORIGIN from Greek pteron wing + daktulos finger …   English terms dictionary

  • pterodactyl — [ter΄ə dak′təl] n. [< ModL Pterodactylus: see PTERO & DACTYL] 1. PTEROSAUR: now a loose usage 2. any of a suborder (Pterodactyloidea) of pterosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods; specif., any of a genus (Pterodactylus) of this… …   English World dictionary

  • pterodactyl — UK [ˌterəʊˈdæktɪl] / US [ˌterəˈdækt(ə)l] noun [countable] Word forms pterodactyl : singular pterodactyl plural pterodactyls a flying reptile that lived millions of years ago …   English dictionary

  • pterodactyl — pterodactylic, pterodactylous, adj. pterodactylid, adj., n. pterodactyloid, adj. /ter euh dak til/, n. any of a number of genera of flying reptiles of the extinct order Pterosauria, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a highly… …   Universalium

  • pterodactyl — [19] Pterodactyl means literally ‘wing finger’. It was coined in the early 19th century, as Latin pterodactylus, from Greek pterón ‘wing’ (source of English helicopter, and descendant of the Indo European base *pet ‘fly’, which also produced… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • pterodactyl —   n. extinct featherless flying reptile.    ♦ pterodactylian,    ♦ pterodactylic,    ♦ pterodactylid,    ♦ pterodactylous, a.    ♦ pterodactyloid, a. like a pterodactyl …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • Pterodactyl (disambiguation) — Pterodactyl can mean: *Pterosaur, an extinct flying reptile *Pterodactyl (film), a horror film *Westland Hill Pterodactyl, a series of experimental aircraft designs starting in the 1920s *Pterodactyl Ascender, a family of U.S. designed and built… …   Wikipedia

  • Pterodactyl Ascender — This article is about the ultralight aircraft. For the Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle, see Chengdu Pterodactyl I. Pterodactyl series …   Wikipedia

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