Meanings
plural pterodactyls
- countableA pterosaur of the genus Pterodactylus.
- broadlyproscribedAny pterosaur.
Now let me tell you, Brisbane mossies in the sixties were as big as pterodactyls.
1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 1732 more examples
He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl - two of the first of the wonders which they had encountered.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLCHad a pterodactyl swooped down from those old-time crags, it would hardly have been out of place.
1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 97
Origin
- Ancient Greekπτερόν“wing”
- Frenchptérodactyle
- Englishpterodactyl
From French ptérodactyle, a term coined by Cuvier from Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”). By surface analysis, ptero- + -dactyl.
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan pterodàctil
- pterodàctilinformal term for any pterosaur
Chinese Mandarin 翼手龍 /翼手龙
- 翼手龍 /翼手龙 (yìshǒulóng)informal term for any pterosaur
Esperanto pterodaktilo
- pterodaktiloinformal term for any pterosaur
Finnish lentolisko
- lentoliskoinformal term for any pterosaur
French ptérodactyle
- ptérodactyleinformal term for any pterosaur
German Pterodaktylus
- Pterodaktylusinformal term for any pterosaur
Greek πτεροδάκτυλος
- πτεροδάκτυλος (pterodáktylos)informal term for any pterosaur
Hawaiian peterodaketila
- peterodaketilainformal term for any pterosaur
Italian pterodattilo
- pterodattiloinformal term for any pterosaur
Japanese プテロダクティルス, テロダクティル
- プテロダクティルス (puterodakutirusu)informal term for any pterosaur
- テロダクティル (terodakutiru)informal term for any pterosaur
Polish pterodaktyl
- pterodaktylinformal term for any pterosaur
Portuguese pterodáctilo
- pterodáctiloinformal term for any pterosaur
Russian птерода́ктиль
- птерода́ктиль (pterodáktilʹ)informal term for any pterosaur
Spanish pterodáctilo
- pterodáctiloinformal term for any pterosaur
Swahili pterodaktilo
- pterodaktiloinformal term for any pterosaur
Swedish flygödla
- flygödlainformal term for any pterosaur
Cite this entry
pterodactyl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterodactyl
“pterodactyl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterodactyl. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pterodactyl,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterodactyl.
Source: pterodactyl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.