quadruped
nounUK /ˈkwɒdɹəpɛd/ · US /ˈkwɑdɹəˌpɛd/
Etymology Borrowed from French quadrupède, from Middle French, from Latin stem of quadrupēs (“four-footed, a four-footed animal”), from quadri- (“four-”) + stem of pes (“foot”). Alternatively analyzable as quadru- + -ped. Doublet of tetrapod.
1
A four-footed or four-legged animal.
- Bradshaw knew nothing of the 'wind of change' that was coming in a century's time, so he contented himself with an exposition on the Vale of the White Horse, "deriving its singular denomination from the gigantic carving of that useful quadruped, on a high chalky hill beyond".2023 February 22, Stephen Roberts, “Reading... between the lines... to Wales”, in RAIL, number 977, page 56:
2
A mammal ambulating on all fours.
- Synonyms
- tetrapod
- Derived terms
- quadrupedal, quadrupedalism, quadrupedantic, quadrupedism, quadrupedy
- Related terms
- biped, Tetrapoda