creeper

noun

Etymology: From Middle English crepere, from Old English crēopere, equivalent to creep + -er. Slang usage derived from phrase give the creeps or creep out (distinct from merely one who creeps).

1. A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.

   “Standing Waters[…] are most unwholesome, putrified, and full of mites, creepers, slimy, muddy, uncleane, corrupt, impure, by reason of the Suns heat, and still standing;”

   “With his presence marked by shots of children’s toys overlaid with ominous music, Z is more of a creeper than a reaper—until a shocking, sudden moment midway through the film.”

2. Any creeping animal (such as a serpent), reptile.
3. A one-piece garment for infants designed to facilitate access to the wearer's diaper.
4. A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.
5. A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.
6. A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.
7. A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
8. An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.
9. 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.
10. Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping, especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.

    “Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth.”

11. A treecreeper.
12. Strophitus undulatus, a freshwater mussel of the eastern United States.
13. A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.
14. The lowest gear of some tractors or trucks: one with so low a gear ratio that the vehicle creeps along at the speed of a human's slow walk.

    “Throwing it in creeper and then getting out to work alongside is strictly forbidden because it is too dangerous if anything goes wrong.”

15. A low-profile wheeled platform whereupon one may lie on one's back and gain better access to the roof of a space with very low height (such as the underbody of a vehicle), or a low stool similarly wheeled.

    “If my phone rings while I'm on a creeper underneath the car with oil on my hands, well, the caller will just have to leave a voicemail.”

    “"Yeah." It was him, alright; if the world's weariest pair of workboots hadn't tipped her off, his world-weary voice certainly would have. "Where were you?" "My quarters. We've got a full ticket set today, and techs work best without oversight." Neither of these things was untrue, though the curation was more than a little dishonest. "Maybe yours do." Nascimbeni rolled out, back flat against a neon orange creeper, and sat up with an audible wince. "Mine fuck the dog."”

16. A person who creeps people out; a creepy person.

    “Don't go to a nightclub to find a boyfriend. They're all creepers there.”

17. A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
18. A ball that travels low, near ground level.

    “May joined Hutton and proceeded to play masterly cricket in which the straight-drive predominated. There was always the possibility that he might be trapped by a creeper, but May watched the ball intently.”