dinosaur

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

    From Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós, terrible, awesome, mighty, fearfully great) + σαῦρος (saûros, lizard, reptile). Coined as Dinosaur(s) and Dinosauria by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1841/1842.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdaɪnəsɔː(ɹ)/
      Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • (US) IPA(key): /ˈdaɪnəsoɹ/
    • (Canada, idle-idol split) IPA(key): /ˈdʌɪnəsɔːɹ/
    • (Indic) IPA(key): /ɖajˈnosə(r)/, /ˈɖajnɵsɔ(r)/
    • Hyphenation: di‧no‧saur

    Noun

    dinosaur (plural dinosaurs)

    1. (sciences) Any of the animals belonging to the clade Dinosauria, especially those that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct. [from c. 1840]
    2. (colloquial) Any member of the clade Dinosauria other than birds.
    3. (proscribed) Any extinct reptile, not necessarily belonging to Dinosauria, that existed between about 230 million and 65 million years ago, as well as the stem-mammal Dimetrodon.
    4. (figuratively, colloquial) Something or someone that is very old or old-fashioned, or is not willing to change and adapt.
      • 1975, Frederick P. Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month, published 1995:
        [The OS/360 linkage editor] is the culmination of years of development of static overlay technique. Yet it is also the last and finest of the dinosaurs, for it belongs to a system in which multiprogramming is the normal mode and dynamic core allocation the basic assumption.
      • 1999, Ron Harbin, Aaron Barker, Anthony L. Smith, “What About Now”, performed by Lonestar:
        The sign in the window said for sale or trade on the last remaining dinosaur Detroit made.
    5. (figuratively, colloquial) Anything no longer in common use or practice.

    Usage notes

    • Many animals commonly described as dinosaurs do not belong to Dinosauria, and are not true dinosaurs. These include pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Describing these as dinosaurs is frowned upon in scientific writing but persists in the media and in everyday speech.
    • Conversely, not all members of Dinosauria became extinct in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Those that survived were the ancestors of modern birds, which therefore also belong to Dinosauria. However, birds are not usually described as dinosaurs, except in some popular science and technical writing.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

    Further reading

    Norwegian Bokmål

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós) + σαῦρος (saûros).

    Noun

    dinosaur m (definite singular dinosauren, indefinite plural dinosaurer, definite plural dinosaurene)

    1. a dinosaur (extinct reptile)

    References

    Further reading

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós) + σαῦρος (saûros).

    Noun

    dinosaur m (definite singular dinosauren, indefinite plural dinosaurar, definite plural dinosaurane)

    1. a dinosaur (extinct reptile)

    References

    Further reading

    Scots

    Noun

    dinosaur (plural dinosaurs)

    1. a dinosaur (extinct reptile)

    Further reading

    Volapük

    Etymology

    From translingual Dinosauria, from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós, scary, awful) + σαῦρος (saûros, lizard).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [di.no.sa.ˈuɾ]

    Noun

    dinosaur (genitive dinosaura, plural dinosaurs)

    1. dinosaur

    Declension

    Declension of dinosaur
    singular plural
    nominative dinosaur dinosaurs
    genitive dinosaura dinosauras
    dative dinosaure dinosaures
    accusative dinosauri dinosauris
    vocative 1 o dinosaur! o dinosaurs!
    predicative 2 dinosauru dinosaurus

    1 status as a case is disputed
    2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

    Hyponyms

    • dinosauril
    • dinosaurül
    • hidinosaur
    • jidinosaur
    • ledinosaur

    Derived terms

    • dinosaur bödöfik
    • dinosaur lunasärvigik
    • dinosaur mitifidöl
    • dinosaur planifidöl
    • dinosaurabid
    • dinosaurabomem
    • dinosaurafamül
    • dinosaurafomik
    • dinosaurafösil
    • dinosauragrup
    • dinosaurakran
    • dinosauralög
    • dinosauranem
    • dinosauratuvöp
    • dinosaurik