Archaeopteryx \Ar`ch[ae]*op"te*ryx\, n. [Gr. 'archai^os ancient + pte`ryx wing.]

(Paleon.) A fossil bird, of the Jurassic period, remarkable for having a long tapering tail of many vertebr[ae] with feathers along each side, and jaws armed with teeth, with other reptilian characteristics.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)