reptile
[ rep-til, -tahyl ]
/ ˈrɛp tɪl, -taɪl /
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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.
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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, adjectiverep·ti·loid [rep-tl-oid], /ˈrɛp tlˌɔɪd/, adjectiveWords nearby reptile
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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 personyou 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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.