dinosaur
Etymology

From Ancient Greek δεινός + σαῦρος ("lizard, reptile").

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈdaɪnəsɔː(ɹ)/
  • (Canada, idle-idol split) IPA: /ˈdʌɪnəsɔːɹ/
Noun

dinosaur

  1. (scientific) Any of the animals belonging to the clade Dinosauria, especially those that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct. [from c. 1840]
  2. (colloquial) Any member of the clade Dinosauria other than birds.
  3. (proscribed) Any extinct reptile, not necessarily belonging to Dinosauria, that existed between about 230 million and 65 million years ago.
    • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC ↗:
      "Not a bird, my dear Roxton - not a bird." "A beast?" "No; a reptile - a dinosaur."
  4. (figuratively, colloquial) Something or someone that is very old or old-fashioned, or is not willing to change and adapt.
  5. (figuratively, colloquial) Anything no longer in common use or practice.
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