pterosaur

The story

1. Ancient Greek · borrowed fromπτερόν“feather, wing”
2. English todaypterosaur

From ptero- + -saur, literally “wing lizard”, from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “feather, wing”) and σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard, reptile”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from c. 1860 Any flying reptile, of the extinct order †Pterosauria, including the pterodactyls.