serpent
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]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 English serpent.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɜːpənt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɝpənt/
Audio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: ser‧pent
Noun
[edit]serpent (plural serpents)
- (now literary) A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
- 1712, A. Hill, chapter 9, in The Book of Ecclesiastes Paraphrased. A Divine Poem.[1], Newcastle upon Tyne: J. White, page 38:
- He falls into it, who has digg'd a Pit.
Who breaks a Hedge is with a Serpent bit.
- 1879, Charles H. Eden, chapter III, in Ula, in Veldt and Laager: A Tale of the Zulus.[2], copyright edition, Hamburg: Karl Grädener, page 45:
- Coiled up behind the shrub, […] was a green imamba, the most dreaded of all South African serpents.
- (figurative) A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
- 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]:
- He is a very serpent in my way.
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- '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.'
- (music) An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
- A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.
Synonyms
[edit]Hyponyms
[edit]Meronyms
[edit]Holonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]- fiery serpent
- serpentarium (noun)
- serpenticidal (adjective)
- serpenticide (noun)
- serpenticone (noun)
- serpenticonic (adjective)
- serpentist (noun)
- serpentize (verb)
- serpentkind (noun)
- serpentlike (adjective)
- serpentry (noun)
- serpopard (noun)
Related terms
[edit]- Serpens (proper noun)
- serpentiform (adjective)
- serpentigenous (adjective)
- serpentine (adj/noun/verb)
Translations
[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
[edit]serpent (third-person singular simple present serpents, present participle serpenting, simple past and past participle serpented)
- (obsolete, intransitive) To wind or meander
- (obsolete, transitive) To encircle.
- 1645 February 10 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for January 31 1645]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
- fruit-trees, whose boles are serpented with excellent vines
See also
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Catalan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Latin serpentem, from serpō (“crawl, creep”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): (Central) [sərˈpen]
- IPA(key): (Balearic) [sərˈpent]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [seɾˈpent]
Audio (Valencia): (file)
Noun
[edit]serpent m or f (plural serpents)
Dutch
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle Dutch serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), from the verb serpō (“I creep, crawl”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]serpent n or f or m (plural serpenten, diminutive serpentje n)
- (formal, dated) snake
- Synonym: slang
- (formal) serpent, serpentine dragon, large snake
- Synonym: slang
- an unpleasant, spiteful or foulmouthed person, especially used of women
- Synonym: slang
Noun
[edit]serpent f (plural serpenten, diminutive serpentje n)
Descendants
[edit]- → West Frisian: serpint
Anagrams
[edit]French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Middle French serpent, from Old French serpent, from Latin serpentem, accusative form of serpēns, from serpō (“crawl, creep”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]serpent m (plural serpents, feminine serpente)
Derived terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “serpent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
[edit]Latin
[edit]Verb
[edit]serpent
Middle French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Old French serpent, from Latin serpentem, accusative singular form of serpēns.
Noun
[edit]serpent m (plural serpenz)
Descendants
[edit]- French: serpent
Old French
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin serpēns, serpentem.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]serpent oblique singular, m (oblique plural serpenz or serpentz, nominative singular serpenz or serpentz, nominative plural serpent)
Descendants
[edit]- Middle French: serpent
- French: serpent
- Walloon: sierpint
- → Middle English: serpent
- English: serpent
- → Dutch: serpent
Romanian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from French serpent or English serpent.
Noun
[edit]serpent n (plural serpente)
Declension
[edit]singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) serpent | serpentul | (niște) serpente | serpentele |
genitive/dative | (unui) serpent | serpentului | (unor) serpente | serpentelor |
vocative | serpentule | serpentelor |
Romansch
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin serpēns, serpentem.
Noun
[edit]serpent m (plural serpents)
Synonyms
[edit]- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Italic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English literary terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:Musical instruments
- English verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Snakes
- en:Woodwind instruments
- Catalan terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Catalan terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- Catalan terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Catalan terms inherited from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan terms with audio pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan feminine nouns with no feminine ending
- Catalan masculine nouns
- Catalan feminine nouns
- Catalan nouns with multiple genders
- ca:Snakes
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old French
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛnt
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛnt/2 syllables
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch neuter nouns
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch nouns with multiple genders
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch formal terms
- Dutch dated terms
- nl:Musical instruments
- nl:People
- nl:Snakes
- French terms derived from Proto-Italic
- French terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Snakes
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms
- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French terms inherited from Latin
- Middle French terms derived from Latin
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French masculine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- frm:Animals
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- fro:Animals
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms borrowed from English
- Romanian terms derived from English
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- ro:Music
- Romansch terms inherited from Latin
- Romansch terms derived from Latin
- Romansch lemmas
- Romansch nouns
- Romansch masculine nouns
- Surmiran Romansch
- rm:Reptiles