Raptor properly means a bird of prey — eagles, hawks, owls. It is also used informally for the dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Velociraptor is one specific member of that group, and it was roughly turkey-sized, not the man-height animal the films made famous.
The core difference
A category with two lives, and one specific species inside the second.
- raptor — a bird of prey. Informally, a dromaeosaurid dinosaur.
- velociraptor — one dromaeosaur species, around 0.5 m tall at the hip and about 2 m long including tail.
What the films actually depicted
The large "velociraptors" of Jurassic Park are closer in size to Deinonychus, a related but much bigger dromaeosaur. Real Velociraptor was about the size of a turkey and, on current evidence, feathered — a considerably less cinematic animal.
The word
Raptor is Latin for one who seizes, from rapere, to seize — the same root as rapid and rapture. It applies to birds of prey first; the dinosaur use is a later borrowing.
Frequently asked questions
How big was a real velociraptor?
About turkey-sized — roughly half a metre at the hip and two metres long including the tail.
Does raptor mean dinosaur or bird?
Properly a bird of prey. The dinosaur sense is an informal later use for dromaeosaurids.
What dinosaur were the film raptors based on?
They match Deinonychus more closely in size — a related but considerably larger dromaeosaur.