| 释义 |
dinosaur|ˈdaɪnəsɔː(r)|
Also in Lat. form dinoˈsaurus, deino-.
[mod.L. dīnosaurus (Owen 1841), f. Gr. δειν-ός fearful, terrible + σαῦρ-ος (= σαύρα) lizard.]
1. A member of an extinct race of Mesozoic Saurian reptiles (group Dinosauria, typical genus Dinosaurus), some of which were of gigantic size; the remains point to an organism resembling in some respects that of birds, in others that of mammals.
1841Owen in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 104 A remarkable approach in the present gigantic Dinosaur to the crocodilian structure. 1873Dawson Earth & Man viii. 202 We have thus brought before us the Dinosaurs—the terrible Saurians—of the Mesozoic age. 1885C. A. Buckmaster Brit. Alm. Comp. 193 The group of fossil reptiles known as Dinosaurs has long been remarkable for certain curious resemblances to birds which it presents.
2. fig. Someone or something that has not adapted to changing circumstances; also, an object, institution, etc., that is extremely large and unwieldy.
1952Manch. Guardian Weekly 3 Apr. 3/2 This Dinosaur school of Republican strategy. 1959New Yorker 12 Dec. 213/1 We are familiar with the American Academic style in such enterprises, those great dinosaurs with brains the size of a teacup. 1970‘W. Haggard’ Hardliners vi. 60 The man was a sort of dinosaur, a survival from another age. 1979Time 8 Jan. 63/2 It's now perfectly clear that we can process dinosaur cases if we can persuade judges to seize control from the lawyers and manage those cases. 1982I. Gordon in N.Z. Listener 4 Sept. 84 One of my correspondents, at the age of a mere 30-plus, wonders if he is not already a linguistic dinosaur... He tells me he is hearing, over the air, forms like ‘He drunk a couple of beers’ and ‘The yacht sunk at its moorings’. |