creature
pronunciation
How to pronounce creature in British English:
UK [ˈkriːtʃə(r)]
How to pronounce creature in American English:
US [ˈkriːtʃər]
-
- Noun:
- a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
- a human being; `wight' is an archaic term
- a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else
Word Origin
- creature
- creature: [13] Creature and creator, both 13thcentury borrowings from Old French, predate the introduction of the verb create into English by about a hundred years. This was a verbal use of an earlier adjective create, borrowed directly from Latin creātus, the past participle of creāre ‘produce’ (which in turn may have been a causative derivative of the verb crēscere ‘grow’, source of English crescent). Another descendant of Latin creāre was Portuguese criar ‘breed, nurse’, the probable ancestor of English creole [17].=> create, creole, crescent, croissant, increase
- creature (n.)
- late 13c., "anything created," also "living being," from Old French creature (Modern French créature), from Late Latin creatura "thing created," from creatus, past participle of Latin creare "create" (see create). Meaning "anything that ministers to man's comforts" (1610s), after I Tim. iv:4, led to jocular use for "whiskey" (1630s).
Example
- 1. He had never run across such a repugnant creature .
- 2. The creature soon died in captivity .
- 3. I tried to fight the creature , but there was nothing there .
- 4. The euro remains a creature of politics , not economics and finance .
- 5. For a year I had worked to make this creature , but now it looked terrible and frightening .