2 entries under this word
a. [Fr. reptile, Sp. reptil, It. rettile, Lat. reptilis, from repere, reptum, to creep.]
Sense 1. Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small, short legs.
Sense 2. Groveling; low; vulgar; as, a reptile race or crew; reptile vices.
There is a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear. Burke.
And dislodge their reptile souls From the bodies and forms of men. Coleridge.
n. 1. An animal that crawls or moves on its belly, or by means of small, short legs, as snakes, lizards, and the like.
Sense 2. (Zoöl.) An animal of the sub-kingdom of Vertebrates, oviparous, like birds and fishes, cold-blooded, like fishes, and air-breathing, like birds.
The class of reptiles comprises two sub-classes; namely, (a.) True reptiles, embracing crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles. (b.) Amphibians or Batrachians, embracing the frogs and salamanders. The latter have gills while young, and undergo a metamorphosis. A few inferior species, however, carry their gills through life. They are in many points intermediate between true reptiles and fishes. Dana.
Sense 3. A groveling or very mean person;—a term of contempt.