Meanings
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1
noun
Any pterosaur.
He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.
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2
noun
extinct flying reptile
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3
noun
A pterosaur of the genus Pterodactylus.
Thesaurus
Word family
Derived forms
pterodactylanepterodactyloid
Related forms
dactylo-dactylypolydactylypterodactylicsyndactyly
Etymology
From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”). By surface analysis, ptero- + -dactyl.