serpent
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɜːpənt/
ipa: /ˈsɝpənt/
Forms: form: serpents
Etymology: From Middle English serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), present active participle of serpere (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Italic *serpō, from Proto-Indo-European *serp-. In this sense, displaced native Old English nǣdre (“snake, serpent”), whence Modern English adder.
Compare Sanskrit सर्प (sarpa, “snake”), which is a descendant of the same Proto-Indo-European word as serpent.
Senses: examples: text: He falls into it, who has digg'd a Pit.
Who breaks a Hedge is with a Serpent bit.
ref: 1712, A. Hill, chapter 9, in The Book of Ecclesiastes Paraphrased. A Divine Poem., Newcastle upon Tyne: J. White, page 38:
text: Coiled up behind the shrub, […] was a green imamba, the most dreaded of all South African serpents.
ref: 1879, Charles H. Eden, chapter III, in Ula, in Veldt and Laager: A Tale of the Zulus., copyright edition, Hamburg: Karl Grädener, page 45:
text: Any serpent six feet long looks formidable; and over that length, one takes on the aspect of a chimera.
ref: 1946 October, Archibald Rutledge, “Along Nature's Trail”, in Boys' Life, volume 36, number 10, Boy Scouts of America, Inc., →ISSN, page 40:
glosses: A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
examples: text: He is a very serpent in my way.
ref: c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
text: 'Dogs and serpents,' She began in a low voice that gradually gathered power as she went on, till the place rang with it. Eaters of human flesh, two things have ye done. First, ye have attacked these strangers, being white men, and would have slain their servant, and for that alone death is your reward.'
ref: 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
glosses: A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
glosses: A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.
examples: text: Then Beowulf too rallied. With his whetted dagger he slit a gash in the serpent's middle.
ref: 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 46:
topics: fantasy
human-sciences
mysticism
mythology
philosophy
sciences
glosses: A snake-like monster, such as a dragon or sea serpent.
Synonyms: sense: Terms derived from Germanic roots
word: adder
raw_tags: in some senses
sense: Terms derived from Germanic roots
word: edder
sense: Terms derived from Germanic roots
word: snake
sense: Terms derived from Latin
word: ophidian
topics: heraldry
hobbies
nobility
monarchy
politics
government
lifestyle
sense: Terms derived from Latin
word: remora
Hyponyms: sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: Airavata
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: amaru
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: amphiptere
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: amphisbaena
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: Da
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: ouroboros
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: sea serpent
sense: Of the sense “a firework”
word: Pharaoh's serpent
Meronyms: sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: rattle
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: snakeskin
sense: Of the sense “a snake”
word: spire
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: fiery serpent
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentarium
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpenticidal
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpenticide
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpenticone
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpenticonic
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentist
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentize
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentkind
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentlike
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpentry
sense: Terms derived from “serpent”
word: serpopard
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent cucumber
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent eagle
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent-eater
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent gourd
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent-grass
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent radish
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent seed
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent star
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpent's tongue
sense: Attributive uses of the noun “serpent”
word: serpentwood
Related terms: sense: Terms derived from Latin “serpēns”
word: Serpens
sense: Terms derived from Latin “serpēns”
word: serpentiform
sense: Terms derived from Latin “serpēns”
word: serpentigenous
sense: Terms derived from Latin “serpēns”
english: adj/noun/verb
translation: adj/noun/verb
word: serpentine