thecodont

 
Pronunciation: /ˈθiːkə(ʊ)dɒnt/

noun

  • a fossil quadrupedal or partly bipedal reptile of the Triassic period, having teeth fixed in sockets in the jaw. Thecodonts are ancestral to the dinosaurs and other archosaurs.
    • Order Thecodontia, subdivision Archosauria

Origin:

mid 19th century: from modern Latin Thecodontia, from Greek thēkē 'case' + odous, odont- 'tooth'