python means the earth-dragon of Delphi, represented as a serpent, killed by Apollo. It carries an Arena rating of 1402, earned across 16 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, python ranks #451 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #1,330 of 17,130 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,751 of 17,116 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,827 of 17,118 for Scariest Words.
python is pronounced /ˈpaɪθən/.
Why “python” is a great word
A large constricting serpent of the family Pythonidae and a high-level programming language. Its name descends from the Greek Πύθων (Púthōn), the primordial serpent slain by Apollo at Delphi, its roots in πύθω, 'to rot,' suggesting the mythic beast’s origin in the chthonic decay of the earth; the language, conceived by Guido van Rossum in 1991, draws its whimsy from the British comedy troupe Monty Python. Unlike the biological 'boa' (a separate family of live-bearing constrictors) or the computational 'Perl' (a language prized for dense, potent text manipulation), Python—in both realms—is defined by a methodical, encompassing embrace. It is the slow, muscular coil that feels like geological pressure, the clean whitespace of an elegant function, and the deliberate pause before the strike or the execution—a dual embodiment of latent power made orderly and clear.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Πύθων (Púthōn), from Πῡθώ (Pūthṓ), the early name of Delphi, from πύθω (púthō, “to rot, to decay”).
The programming language is named after Monty Python.
name
- The earth-dragon of Delphi, represented as a serpent, killed by Apollo.
- An interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language invented by Guido van Rossum.
noun
- Any member of the comedy troupe Monty Python: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones or Michael Palin.e.g.“John Cleese is perhaps the best-known of the Pythons.”
- Any of the family Pythonidae of nonvenomous constrictor snakes.
- A penis.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- pythonoid 73% match — Any member of the Pythonoidea superfamily of snakes. vs python →
- pythonic 67% match — Of or pertaining to, or resembling, the Python in Ancient Greek mythology, a serpent which lived at Delphi (regarded as the centre of the Earth) until it was killed by Apollo. vs python →
- xenopeltid 61% match — Any snake in the family Xenopeltidae. vs python →
- henophidian 60% match — Any snake of the superfamily Henophidia vs python →
- colubrid 60% match — Any snake in the family Colubridae, completely covered in scales and mostly nonvenomous. vs python →
- colubroidean 59% match — Any snake of the superfamily Colubroidea vs python →
- elapid 59% match — Any of many species of snakes of the family Elapidae, including the cobras, mambas, and coral snakes vs python →
- erycine 58% match — Any nonvenomous snake of the subfamily Erycinae. vs python →