serpent

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 English serpent.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːpənt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝpənt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ser‧pent

serpent (plural serpents)

1. (now literary) A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
2. (figurative) A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, OCLC 1167497017:

     At last it came. `Dogs and serpents,' She began in a low voice that gradually gathered power as she went on, till the place rang with it. Eaters of human flesh, two things have ye done. First, ye have attacked these strangers, being white men, and would have slain their servant, and for that alone death is your reward.'

3. (music) An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
4. A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.

serpent (third-person singular simple present serpents, present participle serpenting, simple past and past participle serpented)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To wind or meander
2. (obsolete, transitive) To encircle.
   • 1645 February 10 (Gregorian calendar)​, John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for January 31 1645]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], volume I, 2nd edition, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, OCLC 976971842:

     fruit-trees, whose boles are serpented with excellent vines

• herpetology
• lizard
• reptile
• snake

• penster, present, repents, respent

From Latin serpēns, serpentem, from serpō (“crawl, creep”).

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /səɾˈpent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /sərˈpen/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /seɾˈpent/

• Audio (Valencian)

  (file)

serpent m or f (plural serpents)

1. snake

• serp

From Middle Dutch serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), from the verb serpō (“I creep, crawl”).

• IPA^(key): /sɛrˈpɛnt/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ser‧pent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

serpent n or f or m (plural serpenten, diminutive serpentje n)

1. (formal, dated) snake

   Synonym: slang

2. (formal) serpent, serpentine dragon, large snake

   Synonym: slang

3. an unpleasant, spiteful or foulmouthed person, especially used of women

   Synonym: slang

serpent f (plural serpenten, diminutive serpentje n)

1. (music) serpent (wind instrument)

• → West Frisian: serpint

• persten, strepen

From Middle French serpent, from Old French serpent, from Latin serpentem, accusative form of serpēns, from serpō (“crawl, creep”).

• IPA^(key): /sɛʁ.pɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

serpent m (plural serpents, feminine serpente)

1. snake

• “serpent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• présent

serpent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of serpō

From Old French serpent, from Latin serpentem, accusative singular form of serpēns.

serpent m (plural serpenz)

1. snake

• French: serpent

From Latin serpēns, serpentem.

serpent m (oblique plural serpenz or serpentz, nominative singular serpenz or serpentz, nominative plural serpent)

1. snake

• Middle French: serpent
  • French: serpent
• Walloon: sierpint
• → Middle English: serpent
  • English: serpent
• → Dutch: serpent

From French serpent or English serpent.

serpent n (plural serpente)

1. (music) serpent

• (Vallader) serpaint

From Latin serpēns, serpentem.

serpent m (plural serpents)

1. (Surmiran) snake

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) serp
• (Sursilvan) siarp
• (Sutsilvan) zearp
• (Surmiran) zerp