Serpent,

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Serpent \Ser"pent\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Serpented}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Serpenting}.]
     To wind like a serpent; to crook about; to meander. [R.] "The
     serpenting of the Thames." --Evelyn.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Serpent \Ser"pent\, v. t.
     To wind; to encircle. [R.] --Evelyn.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Serpent \Ser"pent\, n. [F., fr. L. serpens, -entis (sc. bestia),
     fr. serpens, p. pr. of serpere to creep; akin to Gr. ???,
     Skr. sarp, and perhaps to L. repere, E. reptile. Cf.
     {Herpes}.]
     1. (Zool.) Any reptile of the order Ophidia; a snake,
        especially a large snake. See Illust. under {Ophidia}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The serpents are mostly long and slender, and move
           partly by bending the body into undulations or folds
           and pressing them against objects, and partly by using
           the free edges of their ventral scales to cling to
           rough surfaces. Many species glide swiftly over the
           ground, some burrow in the earth, others live in trees.
           A few are entirely aquatic, and swim rapidly. See
           {Ophidia}, and {Fang}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Fig.: A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A species of firework having a serpentine motion as it
        passess through the air or along the ground.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Astron.) The constellation Serpens.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Mus.) A bass wind instrument, of a loud and coarse tone,
        formerly much used in military bands, and sometimes
        introduced into the orchestra; -- so called from its form.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Pharaoh's serpent} (Chem.), mercuric sulphocyanate, a
        combustible white substance which in burning gives off a
        poisonous vapor and leaves a peculiar brown voluminous
        residue which is expelled in a serpentine from. It is
        employed as a scientific toy.
  
     {Serpent cucumber} (Bot.), the long, slender, serpentine
        fruit of the cucurbitaceous plant {Trichosanthes
        colubrina}; also, the plant itself.
  
     {Serpent eage} (Zool.), any one of several species of
        raptorial birds of the genera {Circaetus} and {Spilornis},
        which prey on serpents. They inhabit Africa, Southern
        Europe, and India. The European serpent eagle is
        {Circaetus Gallicus}.
  
     {Serpent eater}. (Zool.)
        (a) The secretary bird.
        (b) An Asiatic antelope; the markhoor.
  
     {Serpent fish} (Zool.), a fish ({Cepola rubescens}) with a
        long, thin, compressed body, and a band of red running
        lengthwise.
  
     {Serpent star} (Zool.), an ophiuran; a brittle star.
  
     {Serpent's tongue} (Paleon.), the fossil tooth of a shark; --
        so called from its resemblance to a tongue with its root.
        
  
     {Serpent withe} (Bot.), a West Indian climbing plant
        ({Aristolochia odoratissima}).
  
     {Tree serpent} (Zool.), any species of African serpents
        belonging to the family {Dendrophidae}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  serpent
       n 1: limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous [syn: {snake},
             {ophidian}]
       2: a firework that moves in serpentine manner when ignited
       3: an obsolete bass cornet; resembles a snake

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  101 Moby Thesaurus words for "serpent":
     Apollyon, Beelzebub, Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Judas,
     Judas Iscariot, Lucifer, Old Nick, Old Scratch, Quisling, Satan,
     alpenhorn, alphorn, althorn, alto horn, animal, archtraitor,
     ballad horn, baritone, bass horn, beast, betrayer, brass choir,
     brass wind, brass-wind instrument, brasses, bugle, bugle horn,
     clarion, cockatrice, conniver, conspirator, conspirer, cornet,
     cornet-a-pistons, corno di caccia, cornopean, cur, diablo, dog,
     double agent, double-bell euphonium, double-crosser, double-dealer,
     euphonium, fiend, helicon, horn, hound, hunting horn, hyena,
     informer, insect, intrigant, intriguer, key trumpet, lituus, lur,
     machinator, mellophone, mongrel, ophicleide, ophidian,
     orchestral horn, pig, pit viper, plotter, pocket trumpet, polecat,
     post horn, quisling, rat, reptile, sackbut, saxhorn, saxtuba,
     schemer, sea snake, skunk, slide trombone, sliphorn, snake,
     sousaphone, swine, tenor tuba, timeserver, traitor, treasonist,
     trimmer, tromba, trombone, trumpet, tuba, turncoat, valve trombone,
     valve trumpet, varmint, vermin, viper, whelp, worm
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Serpent
     (Heb. nahash; Gr. ophis), frequently noticed in Scripture. More
     than forty species are found in Syria and Arabia. The poisonous
     character of the serpent is alluded to in Jacob's blessing on
     Dan (Gen. 49:17; see Prov. 30:18, 19; James 3:7; Jer. 8:17).
     (See {ADDER}.)
     
       This word is used symbolically of a deadly, subtle, malicious
     enemy (Luke 10:19).
     
       The serpent is first mentioned in connection with the history
     of the temptation and fall of our first parents (Gen. 3). It has
     been well remarked regarding this temptation: "A real serpent
     was the agent of the temptation, as is plain from what is said
     of the natural characteristic of the serpent in the first verse
     of the chapter (3:1), and from the curse pronounced upon the
     animal itself. But that Satan was the actual tempter, and that
     he used the serpent merely as his instrument, is evident (1)
     from the nature of the transaction; for although the serpent may
     be the most subtle of all the beasts of the field, yet he has
     not the high intellectual faculties which the tempter here
     displayed. (2.) In the New Testament it is both directly
     asserted and in various forms assumed that Satan seduced our
     first parents into sin (John 8:44; Rom. 16:20; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14;
     Rev. 12:9; 20:2)." Hodge's System. Theol., ii. 127.