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reptiles

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rep⋅tile

  [rep-til, -tahyl]
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–noun
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.
–adjective
4. of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling.
5. groveling, mean, or despicable.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME reptil < LL rēptile, n. use of neut. of rēptilis creeping, equiv. to L rēpt(us) (ptp. of rēpere to creep) + -ilis -ile

Related forms:
rep⋅tile⋅like, adjective
rep⋅ti⋅loid  [rep-tl-oid] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rep·tile   (rěp'tīl', -tĭl)   
n.  

  1. Any of various cold-blooded, usually egg-laying vertebrates of the class Reptilia, such as a snake, lizard, crocodile, turtle, or dinosaur, having an external covering of scales or horny plates and breathing by means of lungs.

  2. A person regarded as despicable or treacherous.


[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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

reptiles

A class of scaly vertebrates that usually reproduce by laying eggs. Lizards, snakes, turtles, and alligators are reptiles. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals.

Note: The dinosaurs were reptiles.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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