The race of worms or serpents, or a species of these.

Originally: any of various kinds of snake, serpent, or legless lizard, including both harmless and venomous (or supposedly venomous) species (now rare…

A snake; esp. an adder or viper, (less commonly) a grass snake; (also) a slow-worm.

Some kind of serpent.

A serpent mentioned by ancient writers, described as resembling a round staff of uniform thickness. Also, a figure of this as a heraldic bearing.

Any of various snakes which have a tendency to enter buildings, or which are kept as pets.

A purple snake (not identified).

A kind of serpent.

Any ophidian inhabiting the sea; esp. any of the venomous snakes of the order Hydrophidæ, inhabiting the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean.

any snake of arboreal habits, as those of the families Dendrophidæ and Dipsadidæ (both non-venomous).

Either of two harmless colubrid snakes of Sri Lanka (not identified).

Name for various serpents of long slender form like a whiplash, as Masticophis flagelliformis of North America, Philodryas viridissimus of Brazil, Ho…

(a) U.S. the name of various grass- or ribbon-snakes of the genus Eutænia; (b) South African the name of various banded snakes, as Elaps lacteus.

= whip-snake, n.

(see quot.).

any of various harmless constricting snakes of the genera Ptyas, Elaphe, and some other genera of the family Colubridae, which feed on rats and…

A venomous but usually harmless snake of the genus Psammophylax, esp. the spotted skaapsteker, P. rhombeatus, or the striped skaapsteker, P. tritæn…

= sea-serpent, n. 1a.

(a) a bird of the genus Pitta; (b) a name given to a small family of snakes, Tortricidæ, found in India and America.

(esp. in Asia) a snake that habitually lives or hunts in the roof of a building.

one of several poisonous Australian snakes of the genus Pseudonaja (formerly included in Demansia).

the southern African snake, Crotaphopeltis hotambœia, hotambœia, which has red or yellow lips and is also called the red-lipped snake.

any of various nocturnal colubrid snakes, esp. those belonging to the genus Hypsiglena of Central and North America.

any of several slender, green, South American tree snakes of the colubrid genus Leptophis, esp. L. ahaetulla.