reptile

Where does the word "reptile" come from? It comes from Latin reptilis, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Reptile’s story begins in Latin: reptilis meant “creeping, crawling.” Creeping, from repere (to creep, to crawl). It reached English by 1300s as reptile. Settled as the biological word for cold-blooded, scaly crawling animals. Today, reptile means a cold-blooded, scaly animal that crawls or moves on short legs.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient reptilis "creeping, crawling", creeping, from repere (to creep, to crawl).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s reptile "a cold-blooded, scaly crawling animal", settled as the biological word for cold-blooded, scaly crawling animals.