Affixes

Easily the most common example is dinosaur (Greek sauros, lizard), a fossil reptile of the Mesozoic era; another fossil type is dinotherium (Greek thēr, beast), a mammal like an elephant from the later Tertiary Period. A few words use dino‑ in the sense of dinosaur, such as dinoturbation, the effect on the formation of sedimentary rocks of dinosaurs churning up the ground, and dinomania, an excessive interest in dinosaurs. However, dinoflagellate, a single-celled organism with two flagella, derives from Greek dinos, whirling.