-saur

a combining form used in the names of extinct reptiles, esp. archosaurs, usually Anglicized forms of Latin taxonomic names: dinosaur; pterosaur.

[ < Gk saûros lizard]

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comb. form forming names of reptiles, esp. extinct ones

ichthyosaur | stegosaur

Origin:

modern Latin, from Greek sauros ‘lizard’; compare with -saurus, a suffix of modern Latin genus names

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-saur, suffix

(sɔː(r))

[ad. mod.L. -saur-us or directly f. Gr. σαῦρ-ος lizard (as in sauro-, saurian a. and n.).]

Used in the names of dinosaurian reptiles and other extinct reptile groups, usu. as an anglicization of mod.L. forms, as in ichthyosaur n., pterosaur n., etc.