Standard Lemma guide

thagomizer

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈθæɡ.ə.maɪ.zəɹ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various stegosaurs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by cartoonist Gary Larson in 1982. His comic strip (image on the right) shows a caveman giving a lecture illustrating this part of a dinosaur, with the caption "Now this end is called the thagomizer... after the late Thag Simmons". See -ize, -er.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: Schwanzstacheln — arrangement of four to ten spikes on Stegosaurus tail