a whip, usually having a long lash, used in driving a coach horse
2. Also called: coachwhip snake
a long, slender snake, Masticophis flagellum, of the southern U.S. and Mexico, having a thin tail resembling a braided whip
Word origin
[1730–40; coach + whip]This word is first recorded in the period 1730–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: canteen, chenille, escapement, malaria, thesaurus