Palæont. [mod. L., f. Gr. κομψό-ς elegant, dainty + γνάθος jaw.] A genus of extinct reptiles, remarkable for their bird-like affinities. Hence Compsognathous a.; Compsognathid a. and sb., (a member) of the extinct family Compsognathidæ (order Deinosauria), to which these creatures belonged.
1878. Darwin, Orig. Spec., xi. (ed. 6), 302. The wide interval between birds and reptiles has been shown … to be partially bridged over … by the Compsognathus.
1884. G. Allen, in Longm. Mag., Jan., 288. Compsognathus may be regarded as filling among its own class the place filled amongst existing mammals by the kangaroo.
1885. Geikie, Text-bk. Geol., VI. III. ii. § 1. Compsognathus, from the Solenhofen Limestone … possessed a long neck, small head, and long hind limbs on which it must have hopped or walked.
