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saurian

[sawr-ee-uh n]
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adjective
  1. belonging or pertaining to the Sauria, a group of reptiles originally including the lizards, crocodiles, and several extinct forms but now technically restricted to the lizards.
  2. resembling a lizard.
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noun
  1. a saurian animal, as a dinosaur or lizard.
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Origin of saurian

1800–10; < New Latin Sauri(a) an order of reptiles + -an; see -saur
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for saurian

Historical Examples

  • But the features were nonhuman, closer to saurian in contour.

    Storm Over Warlock

    Andre Norton

  • "Slow her down, Wales," said Scott, after he had observed the situation of the saurian.

  • By the time he laid hold of it, however, the saurian was no longer on dry ground.

  • For some weeks the Saurian eye had been on the two secret creatures.

  • By the time he laid hold of it, however, the saurian, was no longer on dry ground.

British Dictionary definitions for saurian

saurian

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or resembling a lizard
  2. of, relating to, or belonging to the Sauria, a former suborder of reptiles (now called Lacertilia), which included the lizards
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noun
  1. a former name for lizard
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Word Origin

C15: from New Latin Sauria, from Greek sauros
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for saurian

n.

reptile of the order Sauria, 1819, from Modern Latin sauria "the order of reptiles," from Greek sauros "lizard" (see -saurus). Sauropod is 1891, from Modern Latin sauropoda (O.C. Marsh, 1884), second element from Greek pous "foot" (see foot (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
saurian in Science

saurian

[sôr′ē-ən]
  1. A lizard or similar reptile.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.