Definition of Machairodus:

part of speech: noun

In geol., a genus of carnivorous mammals found in certain Tertiaries and bone- caves of Europe- so called from the trenchant, sharp- pointed, and sabre- shape of its upper canines.

Usage examples:

• Then there was a remarkable carnivorous animal called Machairodus about the size of a tiger, and from the shape and size of the sword- like teeth, must have been a very destructive creature. J. P. MacLean in "A Manual of the Antiquity of Man".

• With these are several species of the genus Oreodon, Leidy, uniting the characters of pachyderms and ruminants also; Eucrotaphus, another new genus of the same mixed character; two species of rhinoceros of the sub- genus Acerotherium, a Lower Miocene form of Europe before mentioned; two species of Archaeotherium, a pachyderm allied to Chaeropotamus and Hyracotherium; also Paebrotherium, an extinct ruminant allied to Dorcatherium, Kaup; also Agriochoerus, of Leidy, a ruminant allied to Merycopotamus of Falconer and Cautley; and, lastly, a large carnivorous animal of the genus Machairodus the most ancient example of which in Europe occurs in the Lower Miocene strata of Auvergne, but of which some species are found in Pliocene deposits. Sir Charles Lyell in "The Student's Elements of Geology".