python

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a large nonvenomous constricting snake of the family Pythonidae, native chiefly to Africa, Asia, and Australia

   A rock python lay coiled on a branch above the trail.

2. 2
   noun

   Python: a high-level, general-purpose programming language noted for its readable syntax

   She used Python to analyze the survey data.

Simplified etymology

Python comes from Greek Puthōn, the name of the monstrous serpent killed by Apollo. English poets later used it for monsters or plagues generally, and from the early 19th century it became a generic name for a snake that kills by constriction.

The snake name comes through Latin Python from Greek Python, the mythological serpent at Delphi slain by Apollo. The programming language is a separate namesake: Guido van Rossum named it after the comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, not after the snake.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary