deinonychus/daɪˈnɒnɪkəs/EtymologyFrom translingual Deinonychus (1969), from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós, “fearful, terrible”) (see dinosaur) + ὄνυξ (ónux, “nail, claw, talon”).nounA medium agile dinosaur, of the genus Deinonychus, of the Cretaceous period, characterized by having a large, curved claw on each hind foot.“The first attempts were made on the remains of duckbill dinosaurs found in the Coleville River dig, but the real success was made when the University located the remains of three deinonychi at an Amoco drill site on the Alaskan North Slope.”