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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Reptatorial #18759 02/12/2001 8:56 PM Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 10 Massachusetts Bay/Bahamas Abagogo stranger Abagogo stranger Joined: Feb 2001 Posts: 10 Massachusetts Bay/Bahamas Does anyone have a definition for this word? It was in a Thesaurus under 'Slow'. Nobody stranger Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18760 02/12/2001 9:04 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dear Abagogo: My dictionary give "reptant" meaning crawling, says no definition for "reptatorial". Sounds as though they could be related.wwh Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18761 02/12/2001 9:54 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass reptant a. creeping. reptation, n. reptatorial, reptatory, a. [dictionary of difficult words] Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18762 02/12/2001 10:05 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 544 San Francisco, CA Hyla addict Hyla addict Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 544 San Francisco, CA Is is just coincidence that it looks like "reptile" - a class of beasts known for creeping? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18763 02/13/2001 2:22 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Welcome to you, Abagogo. My husband's 1952 American College Encyclopedic Dictionary gives this after the definition of Reptilia: NL, neut. pl. of LL reptilis creeping, der. reptare creep. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18764 02/13/2001 2:49 AM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 347 Melbourne, Australia Marty enthusiast Marty enthusiast Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 347 Melbourne, Australia Is it just coincidence that it looks like "reptile" - a class of beasts known for creeping? The critters certainly have that rep'tation, don't they? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18765 02/15/2001 8:40 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,027 Switzerland wsieber old hand wsieber old hand Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,027 Switzerland Taking the risk of a reputation of repetitiousness, let me add my £ 0.02 to the theme of "reptatorial", which I never heard before, but like the sound of. It could have been derived from latin repere (to creep) -> reptare along the same lines as dictatorial originated from dicere -> dictare. Dictare is a repetitious (and thus intensifying) form of dicere (to say). A reptator is thus a being with a characteristic creeping habit. This, of course, indirectly endowes it (him?) with other qualities, just like a dictator, besides dictating, inspires respect by the other features associated with this primary activity. The accessory features of a reptator could thus be summarized by the term reptatorial which immediately strikes us as more wide-ranging than the simple reptant. On further reflection, it could be speculated that there are no dictators without their reptators. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18766 02/15/2001 11:30 AM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 393 London NicholasW enthusiast NicholasW enthusiast Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 393 London -tor is the Latin agent suffix. Verb rept-a-re 'to creep (along)' > rept-a-tor 'one which creeps'. There is another Latin root serp- 'to creep', Greek herp-, which we encounter in the present participle serp-ens, serp-ent- 'creeping', and herpetology, the study of reptiles. I don't know whether there's any etymological connexion between rep- and serp- and creep. (I must look it up for my own edification.) There's no obvious sound-law connecting them. I'd never heard of reptatorial. The construction of an adjective on an agent like that also occurs in pictor-ial 'of or pertaining to a painter' and my favourite grallatorial 'of or pertaining to a stiltwalker (sc. a wading bird)'. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Reptatorial #18767 02/15/2001 11:40 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky It could have been derived from latin repere (to creep) -> reptare along the same lines as dictatorial originated from dicere -> dictare. Whoa--sounds like excellent logic to me. Thank you. Hi, Nicholas! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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