# creeper
## English
### 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).

### Pronunciation

* (US) IPA: /ˈkɹipɚ/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːpə(ɹ)

### Noun

creeper (plural creepers)
* A person or a thing that crawls or creeps.
    Synonym: crawler
** 1638 [1621], Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy‎, page 71: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;
** 2020 May 7, Katie Rife, “If you’re looking to jump in your seat, make a playdate with Z”, in The Onion AV Club‎, archived from the original on 16 May 2020: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.
* Any creeping animal (such as a serpent), reptile.
* (often in the plural) A one-piece garment for infants designed to facilitate access to the wearer's diaper.
    Synonyms: babygro, creepers, diaper shirt, infant bodysuit, onesie, snapsuit
* A device which allows a small child to safely roam around a room from a seated or standing position.
* A metal plate with spikes, designed to be worn with shoes to prevent slipping.
* A spur-like device strapped to the boot to facilitate climbing.
* (chiefly in the plural) A small low iron, or dog, between the andirons.
* An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dredging up items from a well or other water.
* 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.
* Any plant (as ivy or periwinkle) that grows by creeping, especially a climbing plant of the genus Parthenocissus.
    Synonym: climber
** 1964, William Golding, Lord of the Flies:Then the piglet tore loose from the creepers and scurried into the undergrowth.
* A treecreeper.
* Strophitus undulatus, a freshwater mussel of the eastern United States.
* (nautical) A small four-hooked grapnel used to recover objects dropped onto the sea bed.
* 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.
    Synonyms: creeper gear, creeper shift
    Throwing it in creeper and then getting out to work alongside is strictly forbidden because it is too dangerous if anything goes wrong.
* 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.
    Synonym: (lie-down type) cradle
    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.
** 2022 September 19, HarryBlank, “Beyond Repair”, in SCP Foundation‎, archived from the original on 15 September 2024:"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."
* (derogatory, slang) A person who creeps people out; a creepy person.
    Synonyms: creep, creepazoid, creepoid
    Don't go to a nightclub to find a boyfriend. They're all creepers there.
* A kind of shoe, usually with a suede upper and a thick crepe sole, associated with various 20th-century subcultures.
* (cricket) A ball that travels low, near ground level.
** 2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes, page 292: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.

#### Derived terms

* (shoe): brothel creeper
* (plant): Virginia creeper
* African spotted creeper
* bearded creeper
* bluebell creeper
* brown creeper
* canary creeper
* creepered
* creeperless
* earthcreeper
* elephant creeper
* hedge creeper
* honeycreeper
* Indian spotted creeper
* palmcreeper
* Rangoon creeper
* spotted creeper
* trumpet creeper
* Virginia creeper sphinx
* Virginian creeper
* wallcreeper
* wintercreeper
* woodcreeper

#### Translations

Bengali: লতা (bn) (lota), বেল (bn) (bel)
Bulgarian: пълзящо растение n (pǎlzjašto rastenie)
Egyptian: (rkrk)
Finnish: köynnös (fi) (any creeper); villiviini (fi) (Parthenocissus)
French: plante grimpante (fr) f
German: Kriechpflanze f, Kletterpflanze (de) f
Greek: αναρριχητικό φυτό n (anarrichitikó fytó), άνερπων m (ánerpon)
Hindi: लता (hi) f (latā), वल्ली (hi) f (vallī), बेल (hi) f (bel)
Hungarian: kúszónövény (hu)
Ido: liano (io)
Irish: athair (ga) f
Italian: pianta rampicante, pianta strisciante
Japanese: 蔓植物 (tsuru-shokubutsu), 藤本 (ja) (tōhon) (dated)
Macedonian: по́лзавец m (pólzavec)
Plautdietsch: Rank f
Polish: pnącze (pl) n, rośliny pnące pl
Portuguese: trepadeira (pt) f
Sanskrit: लता (sa) f (latā), वल्ली (sa) f (vallī)
Spanish: rastrera (es)
Tocharian B: laitke, śkwarya :