quadruped

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóresder. Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwr̥- Proto-Italic *kʷetru- Proto-Indo-European *ped- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *pṓds Proto-Italic *pets Proto-Italic *kʷetrupōts Latin quadrupedembor. French quadrupèdebor. English quadruped 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".”

2. A mammal ambulating on all fours.