serpent
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serpent¹
- /ˈsɜːpənt/ UK
- /ˈsɝpənt/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun serpents
- A snake. He falls into it, who has digg'd a Pit. Who breaks a Hedge is with a Serpent bit.
- Alternative letter-case form of Serpent
- A snake-like creature, such as a sea serpent. Then Beowulf too rallied. With his whetted dagger he slit a gash in the serpent's middle.
-
A person who is subtle, malicious, treacherous, or deceiving.
He is a very serpent in my way.
Similar: backstabber, double-crosser, betrayer, cockatrice, quisling, rat, ratter, recreant, renegade, serpent, snake, snake in the grass
- 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.
verb serpents · serpenting · serpented
- To wind or meander
- To encircle. fruit-trees, whose boles are serpented with excellent vines
Serpent²
proper noun the Serpent
-
Synonym of Serpens (a constellation).
Similar: Serpens
-
Synonym of Satan or referencing the form he took in the Book of Genesis (a serpent).
Quin, with the wisdom of the serpent, called for more drinks.
Similar: Satan or referencing the form he took in the Book of Genesis
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: snake, ophidian, viper, rattlesnake, cobra, sidewinder, lion, tree, midgard, champion, asp, charmers, python, constrictor, colubrid, taipan
Translations
Every language
noun snake
| Español | serpiente, sierpe |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 뱀 baem |
| 日本語 | 蛇 hebi |
| 中文 | 蛇 shé |
| Kiswahili | joka |
| Português | serpente |
| Français | serpent |
| Deutsch | Schlange, Wurm |
| Italiano | serpente, serpe |
| Ελληνικά | ερπετό erpetó, φίδι fídi |
| Română | șarpe |
| Русский | змея́ zmejá |
| العربية | ثُعْبَان ṯuʕbān, حَنَش ḥanaš, حَيَّة ḥayya, أَفْعَى ʔafʕā |
| עברית | נָחָשׁ nakhásh, שָׂרָף saraf |
noun musical instrument
| Español | serpentón |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | セルパン serupan |
| 中文 | 蛇號 /蛇号 shéhào |
| Português | serpentão |
| Deutsch | Serpent |
| Italiano | serpentone, serpente |
verb 1. intransitive
| Español | serpentear, serpear |
|---|
Talk about this word "serpent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/serpent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. serpent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/serpent "serpent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/serpent.Cite this
@misc{serpent_2026,
title = {serpent},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/serpent},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
