seps
/sɛps
/noun
An African lizard with a snake-like body and very short or non-existent legs.
- Genera Tetradactylus, family Gerrhosauridae: several species, formerly regarded as skinks.
- The common long-tailed seps is probably too small to be able to effectively flee from fire.
Origin
Mid 16th century (denoting a venomous serpent described by classical authors): via Latin from Greek sēps, from the base of sēpein 'make rotten'.