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dinosaur

Richard Owen coined Dinosauria in 1842 from two Greek words, deinós 'terrible, awe-inspiring' and saûros 'lizard'. No ancient Greek ever said 'dinosaur', but the scientific word went everywhere, and Japan's 'fearsome dragon' translation was taken up in China and Korea.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From New Latin to Japanese, Mandarin Chinese

From Japanese to Korean

From New Latin to French, Turkish

From New Latin to German

From New Latin to Spanish

From New Latin to Italian

From New Latin to Russian

From New Latin to Modern Hebrew

From English to Arabic

450 BCEAncient Greek

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

From New Latin to Japanese, Mandarin Chinese

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