serpent

Borrowed from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), from the verb serpō (“I creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *serp-.

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ser‧pent

serpent (plural serpents)

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

• serpentarium
• serpenticide

• serpentine
• Old Serpent
• serpentist

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.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Evelyn to this entry?)

• herpetology
• lizard
• reptile
• snake

• penster, present, repents, respent

From Latin serpēns, serpentem, from serpō (“crawl, creep”), from Proto-Indo-European *serp-.

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

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”), from Proto-Indo-European *serp-.

• 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”), from Proto-Indo-European *serp-.

• IPA^(key): /sɛʁ.pɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

serpent m (plural serpents)

1. snake

• “serpent” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

• 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

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

• (Vallader) serpaint

From Latin serpēns, serpentem.

serpent m (plural serpents)

1. (Surmiran) snake

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