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Py·thon¹

(pīthŏn′, -thən)

1. Greek Mythology A dragon or serpent that was the tutelary demon of the oracular cult at Delphi until killed and expropriated by Apollo.

2. python

a. A soothsaying spirit or demon.

b. A person possessed by such a spirit.

[Latin Pȳthōn, from Greek Pūthōn; see dheub- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Py·thon²

(pīthŏn′)

A trademark for a widely used scripting language designed for producing dynamic webpages.

py·thon

(pīthŏn′, -thən)

Any of various nonvenomous snakes of the family Pythonidae, found chiefly in Asia, Africa, and Australia, that coil around and asphyxiate their prey. Some pythons can attain lengths of 8 meters (26 feet) or more.

[Probably French, from Latin Pȳthōn, mythical serpent killed by Apollo near Delphi; see PYTHON¹.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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