CREEPER

creeper, tree creeper

(noun) any of various small insectivorous birds of the northern hemisphere that climb up a tree trunk supporting themselves on stiff tail feathers and their feet

crawler, creeper

(noun) a person who crawls or creeps along the ground

creeper

(noun) any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

creeper (plural creepers)

A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.

(often, in the plural) A one-piece garment for infants designed to facilitate access to the wearer's diaper.

A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.

A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.

A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.

(chiefly, in the plural) A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons.

An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.

Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, such as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.

Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping; especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.

A treecreeper.

(nautical) A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.

The lowest gear of a tractor or truck.

Synonyms: creeper gear, creeper shift

A low-profile wheeled platform whereupon an auto mechanic may lie on their back and gain better access to the underbody of a vehicle.

(pejorative, slang) A person who creeps people out; a creepy person.

A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.

(cricket) A ball that travels low, near ground level.

Synonyms

• (one who crawls): crawler

• (garment): babygro, creepers, diaper shirt, infant bodysuit, snapsuit

• (climbing plant): climber

• (wheeled platform): cradle

Source: Wiktionary


Creep"er (krp"r), n.

1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing. Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites,creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean. Burton.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia).

3. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is C. familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.

4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe to prevent one from slipping.

5. pl.

Definition: A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers.

6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons.

7. pl.

Definition: An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dragging at the bottom of a well, or any other body of water, and bringing up what may lie there.

8. Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen.

9. pl. (Arch.)

Definition: Crockets. See Crocket.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 February 2025

DISKETTE

(noun) a small plastic magnetic disk enclosed in a stiff envelope with a radial slit; used to store data or programs for a microcomputer; “floppy disks are noted for their relatively slow speed and small capacity and low price”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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