| 释义 |
copperhead|ˈkɒpəhɛd|
[Synthetic comb. of copper head, primarily attrib. = copperhead snake.]
1. a. A venomous snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) common in the United States: so called from the reddish brown colour of the top of its head.
It is usually less than 4 feet long; and unlike the rattlesnake strikes without previous warning, whence it has become the type of secret or unexpected hostility.
1775P. V. Fithian Jrnl. & Lett. 10 July (1934) 54 The Snake that wounded her they call a ‘Copper-Head’. 1782[see pilot n. 4 a]. 1823J. D. Hunter Captivity 171 The common black, copper-head, and spotted swamp snakes. 1825J. Neal Bro. Jonathan III. 409 The black snake and the copper⁓head have gone to the old rock heaps. 1842[see copper-belly]. 1880New Virginians I. 87 The copperhead is said to be more venomous than the common moccasin. 1880[see chunk-head s.v. chunk1 2]. 1931R. L. Ditmars Snakes of World x. 101 The water snake and hog-nosed snake are sometimes mistaken for the Copperhead, owing to their proportionately thick bodies, and gross similarity of markings. The poisonous species, however, carries its points of marked differentiation in having elliptical pupils, prominent cavity or pit between the eye and nostril, and greater number of plates under the tail in a single row. 1949Sci. Monthly Jan. 55/1 Thus, the belief goes, whenever one sees a copperhead, a rattlesnake may appear on its trail. 1963R. Snedigar Our Small Native Animals (ed. 2) 192 Although..capable of inflicting a severe and potent bite, the copperhead..is shy and retiring.
b. In full copperhead snake.
1788J. May Jrnl. & Lett. (1873) 70 One of Colonel Stacey's men bit by a copperhead snake. 1822Massachusetts Spy 31 July (Th.), A woman in Salisbury township..discovered a copperhead snake on her dresser. 1866J. C. Gregg Life in Army i. 18 There were also to be found great dens of the Copperhead Snake, and this species were considered the most poisonous, deceptive, dangerous and mean of all the snake family. 1931R. L. Ditmars Snakes of World x. 97 Two species of moccasins must be considered—the Water Moccasin and the Copperhead Snake (highland moccasin, pilot snake, or chunk-head), which are members of the same family as the rattlers.
c. An Australian snake, Austrelaps superba, of the family Elapidæ.
1878F. McCoy Prodromus Zool. Victoria I. 9, I have adopted the popular name ‘copper-head’ for this snake from a well-known vendor of a supposed antidote for snake-bites. 1896F. G. Aflalo Nat. Hist. Austral. 171 The colour of this snake is brown or copper-coloured, the belly yellow to grey. It is also known as the Copper Head. 1944Living off Land vi. 120 (caption) The thick copperhead is slow-moving. 1963E. Worrell Reptiles of Australia 110 Copperheads congregate in large colonies among thick tussocks bordering swamps.
2. U.S. A nickname given, during the Civil War, to a northern sympathizer with the Secessionists of the south. Originated in autumn of 1862. Also attrib.
1863N.Y. Tribune 12 Jan. 4/6 The more malignant Copperheads of this state. 1863Spectator 15 Aug. 2375 The organ of the Pro-slavery Democrats or Copperheads. 1863W. Phillips Speeches xxiv. 526 Copperhead Democratic sympathy with the aristocracy of the South. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. iii. lv. 358 The Democratic party..was long discredited by..the opposition of a considerable section within it (the so-called Copperheads) to the prosecution of the war.
3. An American Indian.
1838Southern Lit. Messenger IV. 295/1 He said..it would be a sin to kill one, but if he was to go he should want to kill one of the damned copper-heads. 1845Amer. Rev. Oct. 367/2 First Mexicans, then Indians, come on. Brush the Yellow-Bellies. Then the Copperheads come sneaking down. a1861T. Winthrop Canoe & Saddle (1883) x. 145 Five foul copperheads..lurked among the plunder of that noisome spot. Ibid. 149 Meanwhile those five copperheads watched me.
Hence ˈcopperheadism (sense 2).
1863Boston Commw. 30 Oct., In the attempt to turn Maryland and Missouri over to copperheadism. 1882New York Tribune 15 Mar., How he [Jackson] would excoriate Tilden for his copperheadism. |