English Explanatory Dictionary

serpent

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
  2. A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
  3. An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
  4. A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.
  5. A snake-like monster, such as a dragon or sea serpent.
verb
  1. To wind or meander
  2. To encircle.
name
  1. Synonym of Serpens (a constellation).
  2. Synonym of Satan.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɜːpənt/ /ˈsɝpənt/ en-us-serpent.ogg

Word forms

serpent serpents serpenting serpented the Serpent

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *serp- Proto-Indo-European *sérpeti Proto-Italic *serpō Latin serpō Latin serpēns Old French serpentbor. Middle English serpent English serpent 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.

Synonyms

adder edder snake backstabber double-crosser betrayer quisling rat ratter recreant renegade serpent snake in the grass swike traitor treacher treacherer treasonist turntippet withersake wolf in sheep's clothing ophidian remora Serpens Satan

Related words

Serpens serpentiform serpentigenous serpentine herpetology lizard reptile snake

Derived words

serpent cucumber serpent eagle serpent-eater serpent gourd serpent-grass serpent radish serpent seed serpent star serpent's tongue serpentwood fiery serpent serpentarium serpentess serpenticidal serpenticide serpenticone serpenticonic serpentist serpentize serpentkind serpentlike serpently serpentry serpopard
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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