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saurian

 - 4 dictionary results

sau⋅ri⋅an

[sawr-ee-uhn]
–adjective
1. belonging or pertaining to the Sauria, a group of reptiles originally including the lizards, crocodiles, and several extinct forms but now technically restricted to the lizards.
2. resembling a lizard.
–noun
3. a saurian animal, as a dinosaur or lizard.

Origin:
1800–10; < NL Sauri(a) an order of reptiles + -an; see -saur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sau·ri·an   (sôr'ē-ən)   
n.  Any of various reptiles of the suborder Sauria, which includes the lizards and in former classifications also the crocodiles and dinosaurs.
adj.  Of or relating to the Sauria.

[From New Latin Sauria, suborder name, from saurus, lizard, from Greek sauros.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

saurian 
reptile of the order Sauria, 1807, from Mod.L. sauria "the order of reptiles," from Gk. sauros "lizard," probably related to saulos "twisting, wavering." Sauropod is 1891, from Mod.L. sauropoda (O.C. Marsh, 1884), second element from Gk. pous "foot" (see foot).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
saurian   (sôr'ē-ən)  Pronunciation Key 
A lizard or similar reptile.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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