thecodont

[ thee-kuh-dont ]

noun
  1. any of various reptiles of the extinct order Thecodontia, occurring in the late Permian to late Triassic periods and characterized by teeth set in sockets.

adjective
  1. having the teeth set in sockets.

  2. belonging to or pertaining to the Thecodontia.

Origin of thecodont

1
1830–40; <New Latin, equivalent to Greek thḗk(ē) case, chest (see theca) + -odont--odont; so named from the sockets in which the marginal teeth were implanted

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British Dictionary definitions for thecodont

thecodont

/ (ˈθiːkəˌdɒnt) /


adjective
  1. (of mammals and certain reptiles) having teeth that grow in sockets

  2. of or relating to teeth of this type

noun
  1. any extinct reptile of the order Thecodontia, of Triassic times, having teeth set in sockets: they gave rise to the dinosaurs, crocodiles, pterodactyls, and birds

Origin of thecodont

1
C20: New Latin Thecondontia, from Greek thēkē case + -odont

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

Scientific definitions for thecodont

thecodont

[ thēkə-dŏnt′ ]


  1. Any of various extinct primitive archosaurs of the order Thecodontia of the late Permian and Triassic Periods. Thecodonts had teeth in sockets and were probably ancestral to the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodilians.

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