reptile
7 dictionary results for: Reptile
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
rep·tile 
[rep-til, -tahyl] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[rep-til, -tahyl] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs. |
| 2. | (loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep. |
| 3. | a groveling, mean, or despicable person. |
| 4. | of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling. |
| 5. | groveling, mean, or despicable. |
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME reptil < LL réptile, n. use of neut. of réptilis creeping, equiv. to L répt(us) (ptp. of répere to creep) + -ilis -ile]
] —Related forms
rep·tile·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| rep·tile
(rěp'tīl', -tĭl) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, from neuter of Latin rēptilis, creeping, from rēptus, past participle of rēpere, to creep.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
reptile
reptile
1390, from O.Fr. reptile (1314), from L.L. reptile, neut. of reptilis (adj.) "creping, crawling," from rept-(um), pp. stem of repere "to crawl, creep," from PIE base *rep- "to creep, crawl" (cf. Lith. replioju "to creep"). Used of persons of low character from 1749.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| reptile | |
noun | |
| any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| reptile
(rěp'tīl') Pronunciation Key
Any of various cold-blooded vertebrates of the class Reptilia, having skin covered with scales or horny plates, breathing air with lungs, and usually having a three-chambered heart. Unlike amphibians, whose eggs are fertilized outside the female body, reptiles reproduce by eggs that are fertilized inside the female. Though once varied, widespread, and numerous, reptilian lineages, including the pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and dinosaurs, have mostly become extinct (though birds are living descendants of dinosaurs). The earliest reptiles were the cotylosaurs (or stem reptiles) of the late Mississippian or early Pennsylvanian Period, from which mammals evolved. Modern reptiles include crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and lizards.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Reptile
Rep"tile\ (r?p"t?l;277), a. [F. reptile, L. reptilis, fr. repere, reptum, to creep; cf. Lith. reploti; perh. akin to L. serpere. Cf. Serpent.]1. Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small and short legs. 2. Hence: Groveling; low; vulgar; as, a reptile race or crew; reptile vices. There is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear. --Burke. And dislodge their reptile souls From the bodies and forms of men. --Coleridge.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Reptile
Rep"tile\, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) An animal that crawls, or moves on its belly, as snakes,, or by means of small, short legs, as lizards, and the like. An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path; But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will tread aside, and let the reptile live. --Cowper. 2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the Reptilia, or one of the Amphibia. Note: The amphibians were formerly classed with Reptilia, and are still popularly called reptiles, though much more closely allied to the fishes. 3. A groveling or very mean person.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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