python

1
[ pahy-thon, -thuhn ]

noun
  1. any of several Old World boa constrictors of the subfamily Pythoninae, often growing to a length of more than 20 feet (6 meters): the Indian python, Python molurus, is endangered.

Origin of python

1
First recorded in 1580–90; from New Latin; special use of Python1

Words Nearby python

Other definitions for python (2 of 4)

python2
[ pahy-thon, -thuhn ]

noun
  1. a spirit or demon.

  2. a person who is possessed by a spirit and prophesies by its aid.

Origin of python

2
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Greek pȳ́thōn; relation to Python1 unclear

Other definitions for Python (3 of 4)

Python1
[ pahy-thon, -thuhn ]

nounClassical Mythology.
  1. a large dragon who guarded the chasm at Delphi from which prophetic vapors emerged. He was finally killed by Apollo, who established his oracle on the site.

Origin of Python

3
First recorded in 1390–1400; Middle English, from Latin Pȳthōn, from Greek Pȳ́thōn; cf. Pythian; perhaps akin to Typhôn, a part-serpent monster

Other definitions for Python (4 of 4)

Python2
[ pahy-thon ]

Digital Technology, Trademark.
  1. an open-source, high-level programming language known for its readability and support for multiple programming styles, and, due to its many libraries, a large range of applications.

Origin of Python

4
Coined in 1989 by Python's creator, Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum (born 1956), after the comedy troupe Monty Python

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use python in a sentence

  • I saw the trunk curling back and creeping up to me like a python crawling up a hillside to coil around its prey.

    Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • Did you ever see the great python that died lately at the Zoo climb his ragged staff of a tree?

    Mushroom Town | Oliver Onions
  • He became to her thought a python whose coils were about her person, insufferable to the gaze backward.

  • It is restored to represent the god at the moment when he has shot the arrow that slays the python.

  • Anaconda, an-a-kon′da, n. a large South American water-snake of the python family, closely related to the boa-constrictor.

British Dictionary definitions for python (1 of 2)

python

/ (ˈpaɪθən) /


noun
  1. any large nonvenomous snake of the family Pythonidae of Africa, S Asia, and Australia, such as Python reticulatus (reticulated python). They can reach a length of more than 20 feet and kill their prey by constriction

Origin of python

1
C16: New Latin, after Python

Derived forms of python

  • pythonic (paɪˈθɒnɪk), adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Python (2 of 2)

Python

/ (ˈpaɪθən) /


noun
  1. Greek myth a dragon, killed by Apollo at Delphi

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012