serpent
serpent Lexical Profile
serpent Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A legless, elongated reptile of the suborder Serpentes; a snake, especially a large or venomous one in literary or mythological contexts.
"Ancient carvings on the temple walls depicted a winged serpent guarding the sacred spring."
A sly, treacherous, or malicious person.
"The king realized too late that his most trusted advisor was a treacherous serpent plotting behind his back."
An obsolete bass wind instrument with a cup mouthpiece, finger holes, and a long wooden tube bent into an S-shaped or wavelike curve, used chiefly from the 17th to the 19th century.
"The early music ensemble featured a historical serpent to provide the deep bass line in the church choir."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'snake' is the standard everyday and biological term, 'serpent' belongs primarily to literary, mythological, and biblical contexts, often carrying connotations of danger or deceit.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French serpent, from Latin serpens ('creeping thing, snake'), the present participle of serpere ('to creep, crawl'), which is cognate with Ancient Greek herpein ('to creep').