Reptile

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɛpˈtaɪl/

Definitions

1. A cold-blooded vertebrate animal with scales or scutes, typically laying eggs on land, such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles
2. A scaly, cold-blooded vertebrate that breathes air and regulates body temperature through external heat sources rather than internal metabolism
3. A vertebrate creature with dry, keratinized skin that reproduces through amniotic eggs and maintains body temperature by absorbing environmental warmth

Etymology: The Latin "rēpere" meant "to creep," and its neuter adjective "reptile" (from "reptilis," "creeping") was used as a noun for creeping things. English took the word from Middle English "reptil," which came through Old French, so the animal sense grew out of a plain description of movement: anything that crawled on its belly or close to the ground. That is a broader idea than the modern class of animals. The word was never a scientific term for a group defined by blood or skin. It simply described creatures that crept, which is why the category readers now know, with snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles and their relatives, was assembled around a motion rather than a shared anatomy.

Synonyms: serpent, lizard, crocodile, gecko, turtle