megathere

[ meg-uh-theer ]

noun

1. any of the huge, slothlike animals of the extinct genus Megatherium, or closely related genera, that lived from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene epochs.

megathere

/ ˈmɛɡəˌθɪə /

noun

1. any of various gigantic extinct American sloths of the genus Megatherium and related genera, common in late Cenozoic times

Derived Forms

• ˌmegaˈtherian, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of megathere¹

1830–40; < New Latin Megatherium; mega-, -there

Word History and Origins

Origin of megathere¹

C19: from New Latin megathērium, from mega- + -there, from Greek thērion wild beast

Example Sentences

And now conceive the massive frame of the megathere convulsed with the mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony attachments with the force of a hundred giants.

From Project Gutenberg

All I know is that an elephant was an animal about the size of one of your Gram megatheres.

From Project Gutenberg

See the vast mylodon, the scelidothere, and the still more colossal megathere!

From Project Gutenberg