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Webster 1913 Edition
Reptile
Rep′tile
(r?p′t?l;277)
, Adj.
[F.
reptile
, L. reptilis
, fr. repere
, reptum
, to creep; cf. Lith. reploti
; perh. akin to L. serpere
. Cf. Serpent
.] 1.
Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small and short legs.
2.
Hence: Groveling; low; vulgar;
as, a
reptile
race or crew; reptile
vices.There is also a false,
reptile
prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear. Burke.
And dislodge their
From the bodies and forms of men.
reptile
soulsFrom the bodies and forms of men.
Coleridge.
Rep′tile
,Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
An animal that crawls, or moves on its belly, as snakes,, or by means of small, short legs, as lizards, and the like.
An inadvertent step may crush the snail
That crawls at evening in the public path;
But he that has humanity, forewarned,
Will tread aside, and let the
That crawls at evening in the public path;
But he that has humanity, forewarned,
Will tread aside, and let the
reptile
live. Cowper.
2.
(Zool.)
One of the Reptilia, or one of the Amphibia.
☞ The amphibians were formerly classed with Reptilia, and are still popularly called reptiles, though much more closely allied to the fishes.
3.
A groveling or very mean person.
Webster 1828 Edition
Reptile
REP'TILE
,Adj.
1.
Creeping; moving on the belly, or with many small feet.2.
Groveling; low; vulgar; as a reptile race or crew; reptile vices.REP'TILE
,Noun.
1.
An animal that moves on its belly, or by means of small short legs, as earth-worms, caterpillars, snakes and the like.In zoology, the reptiles constitute an order of the class Amphibian, including all such as are furnished with limbs or articulated extremities, as tortoises, lizards and frogs.
2.
A groveling or very mean person; a term of contempt.