snake
pronunciation
How to pronounce snake in British English:
UK [sneɪk]
How to pronounce snake in American English:
US [sneɪk]
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- Noun:
- limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
- a deceitful or treacherous person
- something resembling a snake
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- Verb:
- move smoothly and sinuously, like a snake
- form a snake-like pattern
- move along a winding path
Word Origin
- snake
- snake: [OE] The snake, like the serpent (and indeed the snail) is etymologically the ‘crawling’ animal. Along with Swedish snok and Danish snog, it comes from a prehistoric Germanic base denoting ‘crawl’, which also produced English snail and German dialect schnaacken ‘crawl’.=> snail
- snake (n.)
- Old English snaca, from Proto-Germanic *snakon (cognates: Old Norse snakr "snake," Swedish snok, German Schnake "ring snake"), from PIE root *sneg- "to crawl, creeping thing" (cognates: Old Irish snaighim "to creep," Lithuanian snake "snail," Old High German snahhan "to creep"). In Modern English, gradually replacing serpent in popular use. Traditionally applied to the British serpent, as distinguished from the poisonous adder. Meaning "treacherous person" first recorded 1580s (compare Old Church Slavonic gadu "reptile," gadinu "foul, hateful"). Applied from 17c. to various snake-like devices and appliances. Snakes! as an exclamation is from 1839. Snake eyes in crap-shooting sense is from 1919. Snake-bitten "unlucky" is sports slang from 1957, from a literal sense, perhaps suggesting one doomed by being poisoned. The game of Snakes and Ladders is attested from 1907. Snake charmer is from 1813. Snake pit is from 1883, as a supposed primitive test of truth or courage; figurative sense is from 1941. Phrase snake in the grass is from Virgil's Latet anguis in herba [Ecl. III:93].
- snake (v.)
- 1650s, "to twist or wind (hair) into the form of a snake," from snake (n.). The intransitive sense of "to move like a snake" is attested from 1848; that of "to wind or twist like a snake" (of roads, etc.) is from 1875. Related: Snaked; snaking.
Example
- 1. We have scorched the snake , not killed it .
- 2. A boy was playing with a tame snake .
- 3. And came out full of snake wisdom and rhino fierceness .
- 4. Bringing the snake closer to the head strongly activated the sgacc .
- 5. The snake was thought to be an eastern diamondback rattlesnake .