pterodactyl

American  

[ter-uh-dak-til] / ˌtɛr əˈdæk tɪl /

noun

1. any of a number of genera of flying reptiles of the extinct order Pterosauria, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a highly reduced tail and teeth and a birdlike beak.

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pterodactyl British  

/ ˌtɛrəˈdæktɪl /

noun

1. any extinct flying reptile of the genus Pterodactylus and related genera, having membranous wings supported on an elongated fourth digit See also pterosaur

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pterodactyl Scientific  

/ tĕr′ə-dăk′təl /

1. Any of various small, extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs) of the genus Pterodactylus of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Pterodactyls had long, narrow jaws with sharp teeth, and a wingspan of 1 m (3.3 ft) or less.

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Other Word Forms

• pterodactylic adjective
• pterodactylid adjective
• pterodactyloid adjective
• pterodactylous adjective

Etymology

Origin of pterodactyl

1820–30; < New Latin Pterodactylus genus name, equivalent to Greek pteró ( n ) wing + -daktylos -dactylous

Compare meaning

How does pterodactyl compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• pterosaur vs. pterodactyl

Example Sentences

Autumn stares at a pterodactyl flying over us.

From Literature

Steven Waters set the men's record last year, completing the London event in four hours, 15 minutes and two seconds while wearing an inflatable pterodactyl costume.

From BBC

It’s a story of multigenerational understanding that happens to have neon pterodactyls and pink trees.

From New York Times

Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things such as a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl.

From Seattle Times

This pterodactyl sculpture mailbox is representative of art as healing modality and posits the pterodactyl as alternative to the rising phoenix — like, when a phoenix isn’t nearly gnarly enough to symbolize hardships overcome.

From Seattle Times