python (pī´thŏn), name for nonvenomous constrictor snakes of the boa family, found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the S Pacific islands. Pythons climb and swim expertly. They kill the birds and mammals on which they feed by squeezing them in their coils. Unlike boas, pythons are egg layers. The female coils her body over the eggs for the six to eight week incubation period. The reticulated, or royal, python, Python reticulatus, of SE Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines is one of the largest snakes in the world and may reach a length of 30 ft (9 m) or more. It is often found in towns as well as in the forest. The Burmese python, P. molurus bivittatus, native to S and SE Asia but often kept as pets, may reach 19 ft (6 m) in length. Released into the wild in S Florida, it has become an invasive species in the Everglades. Pythons are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Boidae.

python •Melanchthon •lengthen, strengthen •Nathan •Elizabethan, Ethan •Phaethon • python • leviathan •Jonathan • marathon • earthen •Carmarthen • leathern • heathen •northern • southern • burthen •Avon, Cavan, cavern, raven, tavern •Caernarfon, Dungarvan, Javan •Wilhelmshaven • Tórshavn •Bevan, Devon, eleven, Evan, heaven, leaven, Pleven, seven, Severn •Hesvan •craven, graven, haven, maven, shaven, Stratford-upon-Avon •even, Sivan, Steven •driven, forgiven, given, misgiven, Niven, riven, shriven, thriven •silvern, sylvan •Godgiven • Sullivan •enliven, Ivan, liven •cloven, interwoven, woven •Beethoven • Eindhoven • proven •coven, govern, misgovern, oven, sloven •cordovan • Donovan • Quechuan •Bronwen • Iowan

py·thon / ˈpīˌ[unvoicedth]än; ˈpī[unvoicedth]ən/ • n. a large heavy-bodied nonvenomous snake (genera Python, Morelia, and Aspidites, family Pythonidae) occurring throughout the Old World tropics, killing prey by constriction and asphyxiation. DERIVATIVES: py·thon·ic / pīˈ[unvoicedth]änik/ adj.

python More than 20 species of non-poisonous snakes of the boa family (Boidae), found in tropical regions. Like boas, pythons kill their prey (birds and mammals) by squeezing them in their coils. Unlike boas, pythons lay eggs. The reticulated python (Python reticulatus) of se Asia vies with the anaconda as the world's largest snake, reaching up to about 9m (30ft). Subfamily Pythoninae.

Python, in Greek mythology, a huge serpent. In some myths the infant Apollo slew Python at the oracle of Gaea in Delphi; in others Apollo killed the serpent in order to claim the oracle for himself. The Pythian games celebrated the victory of Apollo over Python.