The taxon Dinosauria was formally named in 1842 by English palaeontologist Richard Owen, who used it to refer to the "distinct tribe or sub-order of Saurian Reptiles" that were then being recognized in England and around the world.[6] The term is derived from the Greek words δεινός (deinos meaning "terrible", "powerful", or "wondrous") and σαύρα (saura meaning "lizard" or "reptile").[7] Though the taxonomic name has often been interpreted as a reference to dinosaurs' teeth, claws, and other fearsome characteristics, Owen intended it merely to evoke their size and majesty.[8] In colloquial English "dinosaur" is sometimes used to describe an obsolete or unsuccessful thing or person,[9] despite the dinosaurs' 160 million year reign and the global abundance and diversity of their avian descendants: modern-day birds.