serpens

See also: Serpens

German

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin serpēns, present active participle of serpō (“crawl, creep”)

Adjective

serpens (not comparable)

1. (medicine, with Latin or Latin-like substantives) serpentlike

   Ulcus serpens (rarely Ulkus serpens), Ulcera serpentia ― serpent ulcer (also ulcus serpens), serpent ulcers

   Erysipelas serpens ― (rarely erysipelas serpens)

References

• serpens in Duden online

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Latin

serpēns (serpent)

Etymology

Present active participle of serpō (“crawl, creep”). Cognate with Sanskrit सर्प (sarpá, “snake, serpent”), Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν (herpetón, “serpent, creeping animal”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈser.pens/, [ˈsɛr.pẽːs]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Noun

serpēns m, f (genitive serpentis); third declension

1. A serpent, snake
2. (astronomy) either Draco or Serpens
3. A louse
4. Any creeping animal

Inflection

Third declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	serpēns	serpentēs
genitive	serpentis	serpentium serpentum
dative	serpentī	serpentibus
accusative	serpentem	serpentēs
ablative	serpente	serpentibus
vocative	serpēns	serpentēs

Synonyms

• (serpent, snake): anguis, colubra
• (constellation Draco): Anguis, Draco
• (louse): pedīculus

Related terms

• serpentāria
• serpentigena
• serpentīnus

• serpentipēs
• serpō
• serpula

Descendants

• Aromanian: sharpi
• Catalan: serp, serpent
• English: serpent
• Esperanto: serpento
• French: serpent
• Friulian: sarpint
• Galician: serpe
• Interlingua: serpente
• Italian: serpe, serpente

• Maltese: serp
• Occitan: sèrp
• Portuguese: serpente
• Romanian: șarpe, șerpânță
• Romansch: serp, siarp, serpent, serpaint
• Sicilian: serpi, serpenti, sirpenti
• Spanish: sierpe, serpiente
• Walloon: sierpint
• Welsh: sarff

Participle

serpēns m, f, n (genitive serpentis); third declension

1. creeping, crawling

Inflection

Third declension.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
nominative	serpēns			serpentēs	serpentia
genitive	serpentis			serpentium
dative	serpentī			serpentibus
accusative	serpentem	serpēns		serpentēs	serpentia
ablative	serpente, serpentī1			serpentibus
vocative	serpēns			serpentēs	serpentia

¹When used purely as an adjective.

References

• serpens in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• serpens in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• du Cange, Charles (1883), “serpens”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre
• “serpens” in Félix Gaffiot’s Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette (1934)