pterodactyl

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

pterodactyl (plural pterodactyls)

1. A pterosaur of the genus Pterodactylus.
2. (loosely, proscribed) Any pterosaur.
   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.

   • 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 97:

     Had a pterodactyl swooped down from those old-time crags, it would hardly have been out of place.

Related terms

• pterodactylic

Related terms

• dactylo-
• dactyly
• polydactyly
• syndactyly

 

Translations

informal term for any pterosaur

• Catalan: pterodàctil m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 翼手龍 / 翼手龙 (zh) (yìshǒulóng)

• Esperanto: pterodaktilo
• Finnish: lentolisko
• French: ptérodactyle (fr) m
• German: Pterodaktylus m, Pterodaktyl m (literal translation: Flügelfinger)
• Greek: πτεροδάκτυλος m (pterodáktylos)
• Hawaiian: peterodaketila
• Italian: pterodattilo (it) m
• Japanese: プテロダクティルス (ja) (puterodakutirusu), テロダクティル (terodakutiru)
• Polish: pterodaktyl m
• Portuguese: pterodáctilo m
• Russian: птерода́ктиль (ru) m (pterodáktilʹ)
• Spanish: pterodáctilo (es) m
• Swahili: pterodaktilo
• Swedish: flygödla (sv) c

Further reading

• Word Family - Pterodactyl