Added 5 October 2026
reptile
/ˈɹɛp.taɪl/ noun
In Latin: reptilia Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about reptile at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- 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. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
- Any member of the class Reptilia, including birds.
- 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.
adjective
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)