Creeper
/ˈkriː.pər/noun
A person or thing that creeps; also, a climbing plant or a type of shoe.
Did you know?Creeper is built from the same Germanic root as creep, a word that originally meant simply to move slowly or crawl, with the eerie sense emerging later from the way silent movement triggers human fear.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*grebh-
“to creep, crawl, or move with bent limbs”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*krēpaną
“to creep, crawl”
Old English
English
crēopan
“to creep, crawl”
Middle English
English
crepen
“to creep, move quietly or stealthily”
14th Century
English
creeper
“a creeping plant; one who or that which creeps”
Modern English
English
creeper
“something or someone that creeps; a climbing plant; a type of shoe”