Why Does -saur Appear So Often in Dinosaur Names?

The suffix -saurus, which appears at the end of the scientific names of various dinosaurs (and in shortened form at the end of the word dinosaur itself) is a Latinized form of the Greek word sauros. Saurus, which literally means “lizard,” appears as a suffix in the names of many dinosaurs because it points to the lizardlike or otherwise reptilian origin of these animals and sets them apart from modern lizards, snakes, and other reptiles. For example, the name Tyrannosaurus is a combination of tyrannus (the Latin word for “tyrant”) and saurus, and the best-known and largest member of the tyrannosaur group is Tyrannosaurus rex, whose name translates to “tyrant lizard king.”

Not all dinosaurs have scientific names that feature the -saur or -saurus ending. Triceratops (a four-legged dinosaur whose name translates to “three-horned face”), Iguanodon (a duck-billed dinosaur whose name means “iguana tooth”), and other dinosaurs were named for their prominent features instead.