reptile

See also: Reptile, réptile, and rep-tile

English

Etymology

Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, neuter of reptilis (“creeping”), from Latin rēpō (“to creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *rep- (“to creep, slink”) (Pokorny; Watkins, 1969).

Pronunciation

Noun

reptile (plural reptiles)

  1. A cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia.
  2. (figuratively) A mean or grovelling person.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. In Six Volumes, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: Printed by A[ndrew] Millar, […], OCLC 928184292:
      This work may, indeed, be considered as a great creation of our own; and for a little reptile of a critic to presume to find fault with any of its parts, without knowing the manner in which the whole is connected, and before he comes to the final catastrophe, is a most presumptuous absurdity.
    • Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
      "That reptile," whispered Pott, catching Mr. Pickwick by the arm, and pointing towards the stranger. "That reptile — Slurk, of the Independent!"

Hyponyms


Translations

Adjective

reptile (not comparable)

  1. Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small and short legs.
  2. Grovelling; low; vulgar.
    a reptile race or crew; reptile vices
    • Burke
      There is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear.
    • Coleridge
      And dislodge their reptile souls / From the bodies and forms of men.

Synonyms

See also

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rēptilis.

Pronunciation
  • Audio(file)

Noun

reptile m (plural reptiles)

  1. reptile

Derived terms
  • reptilien

Further reading

Latin

Adjective

rēptile

  1. neuter nominative singular of rēptilis
  2. neuter accusative singular of rēptilis
  3. neuter vocative singular of rēptilis
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