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quadruped

[kwod-roo-ped]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quadruped ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

four-footed.

noun

an animal, especially a mammal, having four feet.

Origin of quadruped

1640–50; < Latin quadruped- (stem of quadrupēs), equivalent to quadru- quadru- + -ped- -ped
Related formsquad·ru·pe·dal [kwo-droo-pi-dl, kwod-roo-ped-l] /kwɒˈdru pɪ dl, ˌkwɒd rʊˈpɛd l/, adjectivequad·ru·ped·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for quadruped

pig, monster, creature, woman, individual, soul, fellow, person, animal, man, critter, barbarian, monstrosity, swine, glutton, fiend, gargoyle, varmint, body, creation

Examples from the Web for quadruped

Historical Examples of quadruped

  • A quadruped (the Splaypes humpidorsus) of great value to the show business.

  • The third keeper of the lighthouse is a quadruped called Tricky.

  • There was no evidence that any quadruped had descended the slope.

  • There was not one quadruped of any kind to be seen in or about that camp.

    Two Arrows

    William O. Stoddard

  • Was he a quadruped with mane and tail, or an allegory invented to typify destiny?

    A Day's Ride

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for quadruped

quadruped

noun

an animal, esp a mammal, that has all four limbs specialized for walking

adjective

having four feet
Derived Formsquadrupedal (kwɒˈdruːpɪdəl, ˌkwɒdrʊˈpɛdəl), adjective

Word Origin for quadruped

C17: from Latin quadrupēs, from quadru- (see quadri-) + pēs foot
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
Word Origin and History for quadruped
n.

1640s, from French quadrupède (16c.), from Latin quadrupes (genitive quadrupedis) "four-footed, on all fours," also, as a noun, "a four-footed animal," from quadri- "four" (see quadri-) + pes "foot" (see foot (n.)). The adjective is attested from 1741. Related: Quadrupedal (1610s).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
quadruped in Science

quadruped

[kwŏd′rə-pĕd′]

An animal having four feet, such as most reptiles and mammals.
Related formsquadrupedal adjective (kwŏ-drōō′pə-dəl, kwŏd′rə-pĕd′l)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.