quadruped

[kwod-roo-ped]

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for quadrupedal

Historical Examples of quadrupedal

The air resounded with the squallings of the quadrupedal multitude.
The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, June 1844
Various
Not one of them adopted or attempted to adopt the quadrupedal position.
The New Gulliver and Other Stories
Barry Pain
But indeed the whole of the appointments and furniture of the house was adapted for beings who used the quadrupedal position.
The New Gulliver and Other Stories
Barry Pain
The creature that we have here can do absolutely nothing with his toes and is uncomfortable in the quadrupedal position.
The New Gulliver and Other Stories
Barry Pain
His quadrupeds include the mammalia and the quadrupedal reptiles.
Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnus
William MacGillivray

British Dictionary definitions for quadrupedal

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 quadrupedal

quadruped

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).

quadrupedal 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)