bipedal, a.
(ˈbaɪpɪdəl)
[ad. L. bipedālem two feet long, f. bi- two + pedem (pēs) foot. The modern senses are derived from prec. n.]
† 1. Two feet long. Obs. rare.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 185 Brik bipedal chaneled bryng on lofte. |
2. Having two feet, two-footed, biped; spec. designating a reptile that uses its two hind feet for walking or running; also denoting this method of movement. Hence biˈpedalism; biˈpedally adv.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 425 Three kindes of Mice, of the which some are called Bipedal or two-footed. 1760 Life of Cat 106 His bipedal fellow-creatures. 1854 Fraser's Mag. Sept. 273/2 Clergymen may still be found..in an easy association with their flocks, quadrupedal and bipedal. 1870 T. H. Huxley in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XXVI. p. xlviii, These Bird-reptiles or Reptile-birds were more or less completely bipedal. 1896 Nature 27 Feb. 397/1 The absurdly grotesque appearances these lizards presented when progressing in this bipedal fashion. 1898 Ibid. 10 Feb. 341/1 The Mexican Iguanoid Lizard..also runs bipedally. Ibid. 341/2 Several varieties of these bipedal lizards are now on view in the Reptile House. 1907 Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 231 The most primitive Dinosaurs are bipedal in their habits. Ibid. 234 A bipedal animal never could or did develop a patagium without giving up bipedalism. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 17 Oct. 5/1 Having once lost the prize in the overture With his bipedal rival. 1969 Times 6 Feb. 10/8 Palaeo⁓anthropologists still do not know what factors influenced the adoption of bipedalism. |
3. Of, pertaining to, or caused by a biped.
| 1833 Lyell Elem. Geol. xxi. (1874) 371 The bipedal impressions are for the most part trifid. 1872 Nicholson Palæont. 467 Man is distinguished..by his..bipedal progression. |