(
This answer is brought to you by Mookie Harris, Dinosphere and Treasures of the Earth lead interpreter.
Great question! The answer lies with one man, 175 years ago.
Way back in 1841, people knew that there were fossils in the Earth from extinct life that lived before us, and they knew we could learn about these life forms by studying the fossils. The word "paleontology" had just started being used to describe this science. In England, an early paleontologist named Richard Owen had been comparing body parts of fossils to classify them. One day, he was looking at three different animals’ fossil bones from a layer of rock called the Mesozoic. He determined that these three animals had some very similar features (they were vertebrates, they walked on land, they walked with their legs beneath their hips, etc.) Because these fossil bones looked a little like modern lizards, paleontologists of the day thought they must have been giant lizards of the past. They gave them names like Megalosaurus and Hylaeosaurus, Greek for “huge lizard” and “woodland lizard,” respectively. Owen decided that these three creatures were all part of a group that deserved its own name. He combined the Greek words for “terrible” and “lizard” (deinos + sauros) and created the word we all know them by today, “dinosaur.”
Today, we no longer think of dinosaurs as reptiles. If anything, some of them were the ancestors of our modern birds. But they were still very different from birds or lizards or other animals. They were their own special branch of the tree of life.
And just like living things, language also evolves. These days, "terrible" means "really, really bad," but in the Victorian Era, the word "terrible" meant "wondrous, awesome, and mind-bogglingly powerful." To get an idea of the exact feel that Owen was going for, think of that scene in Jurassic Park where Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler stand up in the Jeep and see living dinosaurs for the first time. Their faces capture it perfectly. It's a reaction I see every day on the faces of first-time guests in Dinosphere. So the next time you come face to face with the fossils of these “terrible lizards,” you’ll know why they’re called that—and will be able to make your own determination about just how “terribly awesome” dinosaurs are.
Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why?" questions? Catch up on all of the past "Why's" on the blog!
