Amphibians and reptiles

L’herpétofaune names the amphibians and reptiles of a place, and the first half of it is a verb about how an animal moves. Greek herpein meant to creep, and herpeton was a creeping thing; out of that come « herpetology » and this word. The awkward relative is « herpes », the skin complaint, which the same Greek named for the way it creeps across the skin — two words no reader would ever put together, one verb standing behind both. Then the twin. Herpein and Latin serpere are the same ancient verb in two languages, the Greek having turned the initial s into a breath; serpere gave serpens, the creeping one, and so le serpent. This list therefore carries one idea twice over, in Greek at the end and in Latin in the middle, and neither half says snake or lizard: both say only that the animal goes along the ground. A third verb finishes the picture, Latin repere, also to creep, which is where « reptile » comes from.