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reptiles - 4 dictionary results

rep⋅tile

[rep-til, -tahyl]
–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


rep⋅tile⋅like, adjective
rep⋅ti⋅loid [rep-tl-oid] , adjective
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.]

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.
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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