Etymology

pachycephalosaur

Today it means: Any of a group of herbivorous dinosaurs, of the genus Pachycephalosaurus from the late Cretaceous period. Full definition →

First used 20th c.Ancient Greek σαῦρος (saûros) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʰepʰəlā́ ← Proto-Indo-European *gʰébʰōl
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰenǵʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰénǵʰus
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pəkʰús
  4. Ancient Greekπαχύς (pakhús)
  5. Proto-Indo-European*gʰebʰ-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*gʰébʰōl
  7. Proto-Hellenic*kʰepʰəlā́
  8. Ancient Greekκεφαλή (kephalḗ)
  9. Ancient Greekσαύρα (saúra)
  10. Ancient Greekσαῦρος (saûros)
  11. English todaypachycephalosaur

From the genus name translingual Pachycephalosaurus, equivalent to pachy- (“thick”) + cephalo- (“head”) + -saur (“lizard”).

Words from the same roots

translingualPachycephalosaurus all →

pachycephalosaurus

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. Any of a group of herbivorous dinosaurs, of the genus Pachycephalosaurus from the late Cretaceous period.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.