reptation

R1E1P3T1A1T1I1O1N1

noun

A creeping movement.

OriginLatin rēptātiō ← Proto-Italic *rēpō ← Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounreptation (countable and uncountable, plural reptations)

plural reptations

  1. countableuncountableA creeping movement.
  2. countableuncountablenatural sciencesA creeping thermal motion of entangled linear polymers
  3. countableuncountablegeometryThe motion of one plane figure around another, so that the longest diameter of one shall come into line with the shortest of the other.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁p-
  2. Proto-Italic*rēpō
  3. Latinrēpō
  4. Latinrēptō
  5. Latinrēptātiō
  6. Englishreptation

Learned borrowing from Latin rēptātiō.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

tritanopePotterianpatronite
Cite this entry
APA

reptation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reptation

MLA

“reptation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reptation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reptation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reptation.

Source: reptation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.