raptor

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹæptɚ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æptə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English raptour, from Latin raptor (“kidnapper, thief”).

Alternative forms

• raptour (obsolete, rare)

Noun

raptor (plural raptors)

1. A bird of prey.
2. (obsolete) One who ravishes or plunders.

Related terms

• oviraptor
• raptorial

Translations

bird of prey — see bird of prey

Etymology 2

Popularized (and possibly coined) in 1990 by Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park; clipping of velociraptor, ultimately of the same etymology as above.

Noun

raptor (plural raptors)

1. (informal, paleontology) One of the dromaeosaurs, a family of carnivorous dinosaurs having tearing claws on the hind legs.

Hyponyms

• utahraptor
• velociraptor

Derived terms

• Utahraptor
• utahraptor

Related terms

• Velociraptor
• velociraptor

Translations

dromaeosaur

Polish: dromeozaur m

Further reading

• “raptor”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Parrot, parrot

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin raptor.

Noun

raptor m (plural raptors, feminine raptora, feminine plural raptores)

1. kidnapper, abductor

Related terms

• raptar
• rapte

Further reading

• “raptor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

Latin

Etymology

From rapiō (“seize, grab, snatch”) +‎ -tor

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈrap.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈrap.t̪or]

Noun

raptor m (genitive raptōris); third declension

1. A thief, robber, plunderer.
2. An abductor, kidnapper.

   Synonym: rapīnātor

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	raptor	raptōrēs
genitive	raptōris	raptōrum
dative	raptōrī	raptōribus
accusative	raptōrem	raptōrēs
ablative	raptōre	raptōribus
vocative	raptor	raptōrēs

Derived terms

• raptrīx

Related terms

• rapācida
• rapācitās
• rapāx
• rapidē
• rapiditās
• rapidulus
• rapidus
• rapīna
• rapīnātiō
• rapīnātor
• rapiō
• raptim
• raptiō
• raptitō
• raptō
• raptum
• raptus

Descendants

• → Catalan: raptor
• → English: raptor
• → Portuguese: raptor
• → Spanish: raptor

References

• “raptor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “raptor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “raptor”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁapˈtoʁ/ [hapˈtoh], /ʁa.piˈtoʁ/ [ha.piˈtoh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ʁapˈtoʁ/ [hapˈtoh], /ʁa.piˈtoʁ/ [ha.piˈtoh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ʁapˈtoɾ/ [hapˈtoɾ], /ʁa.piˈtoɾ/ [ha.piˈtoɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ʁapˈtoʁ/ [χapˈtoχ], /ʁa.piˈtoʁ/ [χa.piˈtoχ]
  • (Porto Alegre) IPA^(key): /ʁapˈtoɻ/ [hapˈtoɻ]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁaˈptoɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁaˈptoɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ʁaˈpto.ɾi/

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: rap‧tor

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin raptor.

Noun

raptor m (plural raptores, feminine raptora, feminine plural raptoras)

1. abductor; kidnapper

   Synonym: sequestrador

2. bird of prey

   Synonym: ave de rapina

Adjective

raptor (feminine raptora, masculine plural raptores, feminine plural raptoras)

1. abductive
2. (relational) of birds of prey

   Synonym: rapinante

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English raptor

Noun

raptor m (plural raptores)

1. (informal, paleontology) raptor

Further reading

• “raptor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “raptor”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), São Paulo: 7Graus, 2009–2025
• “raptor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “raptor”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “raptor”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin raptor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rabˈtoɾ/ [raβ̞ˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: rap‧tor

Noun

raptor m (plural raptores, feminine raptora, feminine plural raptoras)

1. kidnapper; abductor

   Synonym: secuestrador

Further reading

• “raptor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024