reptile


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rep·tile

 (rĕp′tīl′, -tĭl)
n.
1. Any of various usually cold-blooded egg-laying vertebrates often grouped in the class Reptilia, having dry skin covered with scales or horny plates and breathing by means of lungs, and including the snakes, lizards, crocodilians, and turtles. In some classification systems, birds are considered to be reptiles because they are descended from reptilian dinosaurs.
2. A person regarded as contemptible or obsequious.

[Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, from neuter of Latin rēptilis, creeping, from rēptus, past participle of rēpere, to creep.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reptile

(ˈrɛptaɪl)
n
1. (Animals) 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
2. (Zoology) 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
3. a grovelling insignificant person: you miserable little reptile!.
adj
4. creeping, crawling, or squirming
5. grovelling or insignificant; mean; contemptible
[C14: from Late Latin reptilis creeping, from Latin rēpere to crawl]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

rep•tile

(ˈrɛp tɪl, -taɪl)

n.
1. any air-breathing vertebrate of the class Reptilia, characterized by a three-chambered heart, a completely bony skeleton, and a covering of dry scales or horny plates: includes the snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and various extinct forms.
2. (loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep.
3. a groveling, mean, or despicable person.
adj.
4. groveling, mean, or despicable.
[1350–1400; Middle English reptil < Late Latin rēptile, n. use of neuter of rēptilis creeping = Latin rēp(ere) to creep) + -tilis -tile]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

rep·tile

(rĕp′tīl′)
Any of various cold-blooded vertebrate animals that have skin covered with scales or horny plates, breathe air with lungs, and usually have a three-chambered heart. Reptiles include the crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and lizards.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reptile

  • reptile, amphibian - A reptile has dry, scaly skin, while an amphibian has moist skin.
  • herptile - Another word for reptile or amphibian.
  • spear - The sting of a reptile or insect.
  • herpetology - The branch of zoology dealing with amphibians and reptiles, based on Greek herpeton, "creeping thing."
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.reptile - any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct formsreptile - any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia including tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators, crocodiles, and extinct forms
craniate, vertebrate - animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
class Reptilia, Reptilia - class of cold-blooded air-breathing vertebrates with completely ossified skeleton and a body usually covered with scales or horny plates; once the dominant land animals
anapsid, anapsid reptile - primitive reptile having no opening in the temporal region of the skull; all extinct except turtles
diapsid, diapsid reptile - reptile having a pair of openings in the skull behind each eye
Diapsida, subclass Diapsida - used in former classifications to include all living reptiles except turtles; superseded by the two subclasses Lepidosauria and Archosauria
synapsid, synapsid reptile - extinct reptile having a single pair of lateral temporal openings in the skull
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

reptile

noun

Reptiles

adder, agama, agamid, alligator, amphisbaena, anaconda or (Caribbean) camoodi, anole, asp, bandy-bandy, blacksnake, blind snake, blue racer, bluetongue, boa, boa constrictor, boomslang, box turtle, brown snake, bull snake or gopher snake, bushmaster, carpet snake or python, cayman or caiman, cerastes, chameleon, chuckwalla, cobra, cobra de capello, constrictor, copperhead, coral snake, crocodile, death adder, diamondback, diamondback terrapin, or diamondback turtle, diamond snake, dugite, elapid, fer-de-lance, flying lizard or flying dragon, frilled lizard, gaboon viper, galliwasp, garter snake, gavial, gharial, or garial, gecko, giant tortoise, Gila monster, glass snake, goanna, grass snake, green turtle, habu, harlequin snake, hawksbill or hawksbill turtle, hognose snake or puff adder, hoop snake, horned toad or lizard, horned viper, iguana, indigo snake, jew lizard, bearded lizard, or bearded dragon, kabaragoya or Malayan monitor, king cobra or hamadryad, king snake, Komodo dragon or Komodo lizard, krait, leatherback or (Brit.) leathery turtle, leguan, lizard, loggerhead or loggerhead turtle, mamba, massasauga, milk snake, moloch, monitor, mud turtle, perentie or perenty, pit viper, puff adder, python, racer, rat snake, rattlesnake or (U.S. & Canad. informal) rattler, ringhals, rock snake or rock python, sand lizard, sand viper, sea snake, sidewinder, skink, slowworm or blindworm, smooth snake, snake, snapping turtle, soft-shelled turtle, swift, taipan, terrapin, tiger snake, tokay, tortoise, tree snake, tuatara or (technical) sphenodon, turtle, viper, wall lizard, water moccasin, moccasin, or cottonmouth, water snake, whip snake, worm lizard
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
reptiel
زاحِفزَحّافَة
влечуги
plaz
krybdyrreptil
reptilioj
reptilsauropsida
roomajad
خزندگان
matelija
सर्पन्शिलसरीसृप
gmazgmazovi
hüllő
reptil
skriðdýrskriîdÿr
爬虫類
파충류爬蟲類
reptilia
roplysropliams būdingas
rāpuļi
ഉരഗം
reptilă
plaz
plazilec
reptil
สัตว์เลื้อยคลาน
плазуни
động vật bò sátloài bò sát

reptile

[ˈreptaɪl] Nreptil m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reptile

[ˈrɛptaɪl] nreptile mreptile house nvivarium m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

reptile

nReptil nt, → Kriechtier nt; (fig pej)Kriecher m (pej)
adjReptilien-, reptilartig; reptile houseReptilienhaus nt; reptile speciesReptilienart f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reptile

[ˈrɛptaɪl] nrettile m
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

reptile

(ˈreptail) noun
any of the group of cold-blooded animals to which snakes, lizards, crocodiles etc belong.
repˈtilian (-ˈti-) adjective
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

reptile

زاحِف plaz krybdyr Reptil ερπετό reptil matelija reptile gmaz rettile 爬虫類 파충류 reptiel krypdyr gad réptil рептилия reptil สัตว์เลื้อยคลาน sürüngen loài bò sát 爬行动物
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
'A reptile contemporary has recently sweltered forth his black venom in the vain and hopeless attempt of sullying the fair name of our distinguished and excellent representative, the Honourable Mr.
The empiric's cure had been a sham, the effect, it was supposed, of some stupefying drug which more nearly caused the death of the patient than of the odious reptile that possessed him.
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.
"Why, he could be a reptile; anything that hasn't wings is a reptile."
The creature in our rear was gaining on us rapidly when Nobs flew past me like a meteor and rushed straight for the frightful reptile. I tried to recall him, but he would pay no attention to me, and as I couldn't see him sacrificed, I, too, stopped and faced the monster.
The sight of the hideous little reptile sitting placid on his rock throne, with his bright eyes staring impenetrably into vacancy, irritated every nerve in her body.
If I had brought someone along with me, we could have raked the great reptile from almost any position, but as the creature's mode of attack was always from above, he always found me ready with a hail of bullets.
The Alabama doctors declared it a huge reptile, and bestowed upon it the name of Basilosaurus.
I looked at the beast well; it was brown in colour and had a shell; it was a crawling kind of reptile, about eight inches long, and narrowed down from the head, which was about a couple of fingers in width, to the end of the tail, which came to a fine point.
At the bottom of a flight of narrow steps the corridor turned sharply back upon itself, immediately making another turn in the original direction, so that at that point it formed a perfect letter S, the top leg of which debouched suddenly into a large chamber, illy lighted, and the floor of which was completely covered by venomous snakes and loathsome reptiles.
"I am a little bit on the destroy myself," said the Hen, tranquilly swallowing one of the little reptiles; "and it is not an act of folly to provide oneself with the delicacies of the season."
The glass breaking, the reptiles all escaped into the street.