reptile
[ rep-til, -tahyl ]
/ ˈrɛp tɪl, -taɪl /
noun
any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs.
(loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep.
a groveling, mean, or despicable person.
adjective
of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling.
groveling, mean, or despicable.
Origin of reptile
1350–1400; Middle English
reptil < Late Latin
rēptile, noun use of neuter of
rēptilis creeping, equivalent to Latin
rēpt(us) (past participle of
rēpere to creep) +
-ilis
-ile
OTHER WORDS FROM reptile
rep·tile·like, adjective rep·ti·loid [rep-tl-oid] /ˈrɛp tlˌɔɪd/, adjectiveWords nearby reptile
Example sentences from the Web for reptile
British Dictionary definitions for reptile
reptile
/ (ˈrɛptaɪl) /
noun
any of the cold-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Reptilia, characterized by lungs, an outer covering of horny scales or plates, and young produced in amniotic eggs. The class today includes the tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles; in Mesozoic times it was the dominant group, containing the dinosaurs and related forms
a grovelling insignificant person
you miserable little reptile!
adjective
creeping, crawling, or squirming
grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible
Word Origin for reptile
C14: from Late Latin
reptilis creeping, from Latin
rēpere to crawl
Scientific definitions for reptile
reptile
[ rĕp′tīl′ ]
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.