pelycosaur

[ pel-i-kuh-sawr ]
/ ˈpɛl ɪ kəˌsɔr /

noun

any of a group of large primitive reptiles belonging to the extinct order Pelycosauria, abundant in North America and Europe during the Permian Period, often having a tall spinal sail.

Origin of pelycosaur

< New Latin Pelycosauria (1878), equivalent to Greek pelyk-, stem of pélyx wooden bowl, cup (taken as meaning pelvis, parallel to the New Latin sense of Latin pelvis) + -o- -o- + saûr(os) -saur + New Latin -ia -ia; so named from the peculiar form of the ischium in such reptiles

Words nearby pelycosaur

pelvis justo minor, pelvis major, pelvis minor, pelvivertebral angle, pelvospondylitis ossificans, pelycosaur, pelé, pelée, pematangsiantar, pemba, pembina

British Dictionary definitions for pelycosaur

pelycosaur
/ (ˈpɛlɪkəʊˌsɔː) /

noun

any extinct mammal-like reptile of the order Pelycosauria, of Upper Carboniferous to Lower Permian times, from which the therapsids are thought to have evolved

Word Origin for pelycosaur

C19: from New Latin Pelycosauria, from Greek pelyx bowl, pelvis, + -saur