reptile

reptile
   People who are considered to be repulsive have regularly been described as reptiles since at least the eighteenth century. Fielding refers in Tom Jones to a ‘reptile of a critic’, for instance. ‘Avoid my sight, thou reptile,’ is said by Dr Primrose to Mr Thornhill in Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, and he means it as a serious insult.
   The word occurs vocatively, either as a covert endearment, as in Absolute Beginners, by Colin MacInnes, or as a true insult. An example of the latter is in Getting it Right, by Elizabeth Jane Howard, where one man calls another ‘you fucking little reptile’. Reptilia, of course, are animals that move by creeping or crawling.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:
, / , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • reptile — [ rɛptil ] adj. et n. m. • 1304; lat. reptilis « rampant », et neutre subst. « animal rampant » 1 ♦ Vx Qui rampe, qui se traîne sur le ventre. ⇒ rampant. Fig. et littér. « Âmes reptiles » (Hugo). 2 ♦ N. m. (1532; n. f. pl. 1314) Vx Animal rampant …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Reptile — Rep tile (r?p t?l;277), a. [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. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • reptile — Reptile. adj. de tout genre. Qui rampe, qui se traisne sur le ventre. Il n a guere d usage que dans le dogmatique. Animal reptile. insecte reptile. Il est plus ordinairement substantif, & alors sous ce nom on comprend non seulement tous les… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Reptile — (Рептилия) Место рождения Затерра (ныне часть Внешнего мира) Появления Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat II Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Mortal Kombat Trilogy Mortal Kombat Advance Mortal Kombat 4 Mortal Kombat Gold …   Википедия

  • reptile — REPTÍLE s.f.pl. 1. Clasă a vertebratelor târâtoare, ovipare, carnivore, cu temperatura corpului rece, fără picioare sau cu picioare scurte, dispuse lateral, şi cu corpul acoperit de o piele cu solzi; (la sg.) animal din această clasă; şarpe;… …   Dicționar Român

  • reptile — late 14c., from O.Fr. reptile (early 14c.), from L.L. reptile, neut. of reptilis (adj.) creping, crawling, from rept , pp. stem of repere to crawl, creep, from PIE root *rep to creep, crawl (Cf. Lith. replioju to creep ). Used of persons of low… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Reptile — Rep tile, n. 1. (Zo[ o]l.) An animal that crawls, or moves on its belly, as snakes,, or by means of small, short legs, as lizards, and the like. [1913 Webster] An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path; But …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • reptile — [rep′tīl΄, rep′təl] n. [LL(Ec) < neut. of L reptilis, crawling < reptus, pp. of repere, to creep < IE base * rēp , to creep, crawl > Lith réplioti, to creep, OHG rebo, tendril] 1. any of a class (Reptilia) of coldblooded vertebrates… …   English World dictionary

  • reptile — ► NOUN 1) a cold blooded vertebrate animal of a class that includes snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and tortoises, typically having a dry scaly skin and laying soft shelled eggs on land. 2) informal a person regarded with loathing and… …   English terms dictionary

  • reptile — reptilelike, adj. reptiloid /rep tl oyd /, adj. /rep til, tuyl/, n. 1. any cold blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the… …   Universalium

  • Reptile — Reptiles …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”