reptile
/ˈɹɛp.taɪl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.25 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A (typically scaly and egg-laying) cold-blooded vertebrate tetrapod animal, of the class Reptilia (excluding birds), such as a lizard, turtle, snake, crocodile, alligator, etc.
noun
Any creeping or crawling animal, one that moves along close to the ground on its belly or on short legs, such as a lizard, snake, salamander, frog, toad, or scorpion.
Dated
adj
Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small and short legs.
adj
Grovelling; low; vulgar.
Example Sentences
- "Prior to the 1990s, the non-mammalian synapsids were considered true reptiles."
- "mammal-like reptile"
- "This work may, indeed, be considered as a great creation of our own; and for a little reptile of a critic to presume to find fault with any of its parts, without knowing the manner in which the whole is connected, and before he comes to the final catastrophe, is a most presumptuous absurdity."
- ""That reptile," whispered Pott, catching Mr. Pickwick by the arm, and pointing towards the stranger. "That reptile — Slurk, of the Independent!""
- "[…] If I pitied you for crying and looking so very frightened, you should spurn such pity. Ellen, tell him how disgraceful this conduct is. Rise, and don’t degrade yourself into an abject reptile—don’t!"
- "a reptile race or crew reptile vices"
Etymology
From Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, neuter of reptilis (“creeping”), from Latin rēpō (“to creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *rep- (“to creep, slink”) (Pokorny; Watkins, 1969).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɹɛp.taɪl/
- British English: /ˈɹɛp.taɪl/