a. [ F. reptile, L. reptilis, fr. repere, reptum, to creep; cf. Lith. reploti; perh. akin to L. serpere. Cf. Serpent. ]
There is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]
And dislodge their reptile souls
From the bodies and forms of men. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
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 reptile live. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ The amphibians were formerly classed with Reptilia, and are still popularly called reptiles, though much more closely allied to the fishes. [ 1913 Webster ]