Etymology

herpet-

Today it means: reptile Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἑρπετ- (herpet-) ← Proto-Indo-European *sérpeti
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herpet- · prefix1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*serp-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sérpeti
  3. Ancient Greekἕρπω (hérpō)
  4. Ancient Greekἑρπετόν (herpetón)
  5. Ancient Greekἑρπετ- (herpet-)
  6. English todayherpet-

From the Ancient Greek ἑρπετ- (herpet-), the stem of ἑρπετόν (herpetón, “serpent, creeping animal, reptile”), from ἕρπω (hérpō, “I creep”); compare herpet-².

herpet- · prefix2

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἑρπητ-
  2. English todayherpet-

From the Ancient Greek ἑρπητ- (herpēt-), the stem of ἕρπης (hérpēs, “a creeping, shingles”), from ἕρπω (hérpō, “I creep”); compare herpet-¹.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.