Squamate
/ˈskwæm.eɪt/noun
Covered with or resembling scales; also, a reptile belonging to the group that includes lizards and snakes.
Did you know?Squamate comes from Latin squamatus, meaning “scaly,” from squama, “scale,” and it names the reptile order that includes snakes and lizards, as if language itself sorted creatures by their armor.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skew-
“To cover, skin, or peel; the ancestral source behind scale-related words.”
Latin
Latin
squama
“A scale, especially a fish scale or a small overlapping plate.”
Late Latin
Latin
squamatus
“Scaly; covered with scales.”
17th Century
English
squamate
“Having or covered with scales.”
Modern English
English
squamate
“A scaly reptile, especially one belonging to the order of lizards and snakes; also, scaly in form.”
Explore more surprising origins