Where does “dinosaur” come from?
Dinosaur comes from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning terrible or fearsome, combined with a Greek element referring to lizards.
dinosaur (English): In scientific usage, any of the animals belonging...
Definitions
- In scientific usage, any of the animals belonging...
Ancestry of “dinosaur”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | dinosaure | dinosaur |
| 2 | German | Dinosaurier | dinosaur |
| 3 | Italian | dinosauro | dinosaur |
| 4 | Russian | диноза́вр | dinosaur |
| 5 | Translingual | Dinosauria | superorder |
| 6 | Translingual | Dinosaurus | genus), now Brithopus in †Dinocephalia}} |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | δεινός | terrible, horrible, fearful, astounding; danger;... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὄνυξ | claw, nail, hoof, talon; Anything which resembles... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃nogʰ- | claw, nail; nail |