Python

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Origin: Greek

Meaning: a unisex variant of Pytho derived from Greek putho meaning "to rot".

In Greeky mythology, Python was a giant serpent (sometimes depicted as a dragon) who looked after the oracle at Delphi before she was slain by Apollo, who took over the oracle and its role. It seems to have been done in revenge, because when his mother Leto was was pregnant with him and his sister, Hera sent Python to pursue Leto until she found a safe place to give birth.

Python is also the name of several figures in Ancient Greece, including a student of Plato.

It's also the name of a genus of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa and Asia.


Feminine forms:

• Pytho
• Pythia (the title used for a priestess of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi)
• Phthia