vipera

la-noun

vīpera f (genitive vīperae); first declension

vīpera (canonical feminine)
vīperae (genitive)
vīpera (nominative singular)
vīperae (nominative plural)
vīperae (genitive singular)
vīperārum (genitive plural)
vīperae (dative singular)
vīperīs (dative plural)
vīperam (accusative singular)
vīperās (accusative plural)
vīperā (ablative singular)
vīperīs (ablative plural)
vīpera (singular vocative)
vīperae (plural vocative)

Aromanian: vipirã

Asturian: víbora

Catalan: vibra, víbria

Franco-Provençal: vipèra

Friulian: lipare, vipare

Galician: víbora

Istriot: beîpara

Italian: vipera

→ Middle English: vipera

→ Middle High German: viper

German: Viper

Occitan: vipèra

Old French: guivre, wivre

French: vouivre

→ English: weever

Old Northern French: wivre

→ Middle English: wyver, wyvere

English: wyvern

→ Irish: vuibhearn

→ Spanish: guiverno

→ Old French: vipre

Middle French: vipere

→ English: viper

French: vipère

Portuguese: víbora

Romanian: viperă

Sicilian: lìpira, vìpira

Sardinian: pìbera, pìbara, pìpera

Spanish: víbora

Translingual: Vipera

Venetan: vìpera, vìpara, lìpera

→ Welsh: gwiber

Possibly from vivus-pario, "one that gives live young". If this is true, doublet of vīvipara.


draco

dracō m (genitive dracōnis); third declension

dracō (canonical masculine)
dracōnis (genitive)
dracō (nominative singular)
dracōnēs (nominative plural)
dracōnis (genitive singular)
dracōnum (genitive plural)
dracōnī (dative singular)
dracōnibus (dative plural)
dracōnem (accusative singular)
dracōnēs (accusative plural)
dracōne (ablative singular)
dracōnibus (ablative plural)
dracō (singular vocative)
dracōnēs (plural vocative)

Eastern Romance:

Aromanian: drac, dracu, dãrac, darac

Megleno-Romanian: drac

Romanian: drac

Italian: drago, dragone

Navarro-Aragonese:

Aragonese: dragón

Neapolitan: draone

desctree

→ Old French: dragon, dragun (Anglo-Norman)
Middle French: dracon
French: dragon (see there for further descendants)
Norman: dragon
→ Middle English: dragoun, dragon, dragoune, dragun
English: dragon (see there for further descendants)
Scots: draigon
→ Old Irish: dragán
Irish: dragan
Manx: dragan

Old Leonese:

Asturian: dragu, dragón

Old Occitan:

Catalan: drac, dragó

Occitan: drac, dragon

→ French: drac

Old Galician-Portuguese: dragon

Galician: dragón

Portuguese: drago, dragão

Old Spanish: dragon
Spanish: drago, dragón (see there for further descendants)

Rhaeto-Romance:

Friulian: drâc, dragon

Romansch: dragun

Sardinian: dragone

Sicilian: dragu

→ Maltese: dragun

Venetan: dragon

Vulgar Latin: *dragōnis

→ Proto-Albanian: *dragɔ̄n

Albanian: dragua

→ Albanian: *drak

Albanian: dreq

→ Cornish: dragon

→ Estonian: draakon

→ Proto-West Germanic: *drakō (see there for further descendants)

→ Latvian: drakons

→ Lithuanian: drakonas

→ Welsh: draig

→ Yiddish: דראַקאָן (drakon)

From Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn, “serpent, dragon”).


boa

boae (genitive)
boa (nominative singular)
boae (nominative plural)
boae (genitive singular)
boārum (genitive plural)
boae (dative singular)
boīs (dative plural)
boam (accusative singular)
boās (accusative plural)
boā (ablative singular)
boīs (ablative plural)
boa (singular vocative)
boae (plural vocative)

First mentioned by Pliny, of unknown origin. Folk etymology connected it to Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs, “ox”).

unk

unknown


aspis

la-noun

aspis f (genitive aspidis); third declension

aspidis (genitive)
aspis (nominative singular)
aspidēs (nominative plural)
aspidis (genitive singular)
aspidum (genitive plural)
aspidī (dative singular)
aspidibus (dative plural)
aspidem (accusative singular)
aspidēs (accusative plural)
aspide (ablative singular)
aspidibus (ablative plural)
aspis (singular vocative)
aspidēs (plural vocative)

→ Catalan: àspid

→ English: aspis

→ Galician: áspide

→ Italian: aspide

→ Portuguese: áspide

→ Spanish: áspid

From Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “round shield or asp”).


anguis

la-noun

anguis m or f (genitive anguis); third declension

anguis (genitive)
anguis (nominative singular)
anguēs (nominative plural)
anguis (genitive singular)
anguium (genitive plural)
anguī (dative singular)
anguibus (dative plural)
anguem (accusative singular)
anguēs (accusative plural)
anguīs (accusative plural)
angue (ablative singular)
anguī (ablative singular)
anguibus (ablative plural)
anguis (singular vocative)
anguēs (plural vocative)

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂éngʷʰis (“snake”). Cognates include Old Prussian angis, Old Armenian աւձ (awj), Old High German unc, unko (“snake”), and Old East Slavic ѫжь (ǫžĭ).


serpens

serpēns f or m (genitive serpentis); third declension

serpēns (canonical feminine masculine)
serpentis (genitive)
serpēns (nominative singular)
serpentēs (nominative plural)
serpentis (genitive singular)
serpentium (genitive plural)
serpentum (genitive plural)
serpentī (dative singular)
serpentibus (dative plural)
serpentem (accusative singular)
serpentēs (accusative plural)
serpente (ablative singular)
serpentibus (ablative plural)
serpēns (singular vocative)
serpentēs (plural vocative)

Aromanian: sharpi, sharpe

Catalan: serp, serpent

Dalmatian: serpiant

→ Esperanto: serpento

Friulian: sarpint

Galician: serpe, serpente

Interlingua: serpente

Italian: serpe, serpente

Megleno-Romanian: șarpi

Occitan: sèrp

desctree

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

Portuguese: serpente

Romanian: șarpe, șerpânță

desc

Romansch: serp, siarp, serpent, serpaint

Sicilian: serpi, sirpenti

→ Maltese: serp

Spanish: sierpe, serpiente

→ Welsh: sarff

[ˈs̠ɛrpẽːs̠]

From Proto-Italic *serpents. Present active participle of serpō (“crawl, creep”). Cognate with Sanskrit सर्प (sarpá, “snake, serpent”), Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν (herpetón, “serpent, creeping animal”), Albanian gjarpër (“snake”) (Proto-Albanian *serpena).


ptyas

la-noun

ptyas f (genitive ptyadis); third declension

ptyadis (genitive)
ptyas (nominative singular)
ptyadēs (nominative plural)
ptyadis (genitive singular)
ptyadum (genitive plural)
ptyadī (dative singular)
ptyadibus (dative plural)
ptyadem (accusative singular)
ptyadēs (accusative plural)
ptyade (ablative singular)
ptyadibus (ablative plural)
ptyas (singular vocative)
ptyadēs (plural vocative)

a kind of serpent, said to spit venom into the eyes of men.


pareas

parēās m (genitive parēae); first declension

parēās (canonical masculine)
parēae (genitive)
parēās (nominative singular)
parēae (nominative plural)
parēae (genitive singular)
parēārum (genitive plural)
parēae (dative singular)
parēīs (dative plural)
parēān (accusative singular)
parēās (accusative plural)
parēā (ablative singular)
parēīs (ablative plural)
parēā (singular vocative)
parēae (plural vocative)

Italian: farea

→ Translingual: Pareas

[päˈreːäːs̠]

Borrowed from Ancient Greek παρείας (pareías).

A kind of legendary snake, that creates a furrow anytime it moves


colubra

colubra f (genitive colubrae); first declension

colubrae (genitive)
colubra (nominative singular)
colubrae (nominative plural)
colubrae (genitive singular)
colubrārum (genitive plural)
colubrae (dative singular)
colubrīs (dative plural)
colubram (accusative singular)
colubrās (accusative plural)
colubrā (ablative singular)
colubrīs (ablative plural)
colubra (singular vocative)
colubrae (plural vocative)

Old Asturian: cuélebra

Vulgar Latin: *colŏbra (see there for further descendants)

Feminine form of coluber (“snake, serpent”); coluber + -a (feminine suffix).


iaculus

iaculus m (genitive iaculī); second declension

iaculī (genitive)
iaculus (nominative singular)
iaculī (nominative plural)
iaculī (genitive singular)
iaculōrum (genitive plural)
iaculō (dative singular)
iaculīs (dative plural)
iaculum (accusative singular)
iaculōs (accusative plural)
iaculō (ablative singular)
iaculīs (ablative plural)
iacule (singular vocative)
iaculī (plural vocative)

[ˈi̯äkʊɫ̪ʊs̠]

From iaciō (“I throw, hurl, cast, fling”) + -ulus.

suffix

Sed iaculi, quibus capulantur, …

L. Iunii Moderati Columellae de re rustica libri (lib. 6, cap. 2, sect. 4); in: Scriptores rei rusticae veteres latini Cato, Varro, Columella, Palladius[.] Quibus nunc accedit Vegetius de mulo-medicina et Gargilii Martialis fragmentum cum editionibus prope omnibus et MSS. pluribus collati[.] Adiectae notae virorum clariss. integrae tum editae tum ineditae et lexicon rei rusticae curante Io. Matthia Gesnero [Nom. Io. Matthias Gesnerus], 1735, p. 572

Note: In some other editions this is: "Sed laquei, quibus capulantur …".

(dubious) lasso; sling or noose thrown over the horns of oxen


dipsas

la-noun

dipsas f (genitive dipsadis); third declension

dipsadis (genitive)
dipsas (nominative singular)
dipsadēs (nominative plural)
dipsadis (genitive singular)
dipsadum (genitive plural)
dipsadī (dative singular)
dipsadibus (dative plural)
dipsadem (accusative singular)
dipsadēs (accusative plural)
dipsade (ablative singular)
dipsadibus (ablative plural)
dipsas (singular vocative)
dipsadēs (plural vocative)

French: dipsade

Italian: dipsade

Borrowed from Ancient Greek διψάς (dipsás).


coluber

coluber m (genitive colubrī); second declension

colubrī (genitive)
coluber (nominative singular)
colubrī (nominative plural)
colubrī (genitive singular)
colubrōrum (genitive plural)
colubrō (dative singular)
colubrīs (dative plural)
colubrum (accusative singular)
colubrōs (accusative plural)
colubrō (ablative singular)
colubrīs (ablative plural)
coluber (singular vocative)
colubrī (plural vocative)

Inherited:

desctree

Vulgar Latin: colober
Asturian: cuélebre
Old Spanish: culuebro
Sardinian: colovru, coloru, caloru, caboru, caoru

Borrowings:

→ Translingual: Coluber

→ Italian: colubro

Derivations:

⇒ Old Occitan: colobrina

→ Italian: colubrina

Unknown origin, but possibly related in some way to colus (via Proto-Italic *kolozros?).


cerastes

la-noun

cerastēs m (genitive cerastae); first declension

cerastēs (canonical masculine)
cerastae (genitive)
cerastēs (nominative singular)
cerastae (nominative plural)
cerastae (genitive singular)
cerastārum (genitive plural)
cerastae (dative singular)
cerastīs (dative plural)
cerastēn (accusative singular)
cerastās (accusative plural)
cerastē (ablative singular)
cerastīs (ablative plural)
cerastē (singular vocative)
cerastae (plural vocative)

Italian: ceraste

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κεράστης (kerástēs).


serpula

serpula f (genitive serpulae); first declension

serpulae (genitive)
serpula (nominative singular)
serpulae (nominative plural)
serpulae (genitive singular)
serpulārum (genitive plural)
serpulae (dative singular)
serpulīs (dative plural)
serpulam (accusative singular)
serpulās (accusative plural)
serpulā (ablative singular)
serpulīs (ablative plural)
serpula (singular vocative)
serpulae (plural vocative)

[ˈs̠ɛrpʊɫ̪ä]

From serpō (“crawl”).
Seems to end in the diminutive suffix -ula and function as a diminutive of serpēns (“serpent, snake”), although not directly built on the latter's stem.


scytale

scytalē f (genitive scytalēs); first declension

scytalē (canonical feminine)
scytalēs (genitive)
scytalē (nominative singular)
scytalae (nominative plural)
scytalēs (genitive singular)
scytalārum (genitive plural)
scytalae (dative singular)
scytalīs (dative plural)
scytalēn (accusative singular)
scytalās (accusative plural)
scytalē (ablative singular)
scytalīs (ablative plural)
scytalē (singular vocative)
scytalae (plural vocative)

From Ancient Greek σκυτάλη (skutálē, “baton”).


natrix

la-noun

natrī̆x f or m (genitive natrī̆cis); third declension

natrī̆x (canonical feminine masculine)
natrī̆cis (genitive)
natrī̆x (nominative singular)
natrī̆cēs (nominative plural)
natrī̆cis (genitive singular)
natrī̆cum (genitive plural)
natrī̆cī (dative singular)
natrī̆cibus (dative plural)
natrī̆cem (accusative singular)
natrī̆cēs (accusative plural)
natrī̆ce (ablative singular)
natrī̆cibus (ablative plural)
natrī̆x (singular vocative)
natrī̆cēs (plural vocative)

Translingual: Natrix (taxonomic genus)

→ English: rinatrix

→ Italian: natrice

→ Spanish: natriz

From Proto-Italic *natriks, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)nh₁-tr-ih₂-. Cognate with German Natter, English adder. According to a proposal of André Martinet, the /ks/ in the nominative singular developed from word-final *h₂s, and /ik/ subsequently spread from the nominative singular to other forms of the word by paradigmatic leveling; Schrijver 1991 rejects this hypothesis, but Rasmussen 1993 considers it plausible.
A pronunciation with a long vowel in the second syllable is attested by the time of Priscian (see Pronunciation below); this may have been caused by the much greater frequency of nouns ending in -īx, -īcis compared to those ending in -ĭx, -ĭcis, and more specifically by the possibility of reinterpreting the word as a feminine agent noun derived from the verb no, nāre (“swim”) and the suffix -trīx (“-tress”).

Cur deus, omnia nostra causa cum faceret (sic enim vultis), tantam vim natricum viperarumque fecerit, cur mortifera tam multa perniciosa terra marique disperserit.

106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Lucullus 120.4

Ne viperas quidem et natrices et si qua morsu aut ictu nocent effligeremus, si in reliquum mansuefacere possemus aut efficere ne nobis aliisve periculo essent; ergo ne homini quidem nocebimus quia peccavit, sed ne peccet, nec umquam ad praeteritum sed ad futurum poena referetur; non enim irascitur sed cavet.

c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca the Younger, Dialogi 4.31.8.2

et natrix violator aquae, iaculique volucres

c. 61 CE – 65 CE, Lucan, Pharsalia 9.720

si natibus natricem inpressit crassam et capitatam

2nd century BC, Gaius Lucilius, Saturae 2.72

2014 translation by Robert Cowan
if s/he thrusts a thick natrix with a head on it into/onto my buttocks

Metaphor of disputed meaning; perhaps denoting either a penis or a type of whip.

Natrix vocatur herba, cuius radix evulsa virus hirci redolet.


vernatio

vernātiō f (genitive vernātiōnis); third declension

vernātiō (canonical feminine)
vernātiōnis (genitive)
vernātiō (nominative singular)
vernātiōnēs (nominative plural)
vernātiōnis (genitive singular)
vernātiōnum (genitive plural)
vernātiōnī (dative singular)
vernātiōnibus (dative plural)
vernātiōnem (accusative singular)
vernātiōnēs (accusative plural)
vernātiōne (ablative singular)
vernātiōnibus (ablative plural)
vernātiō (singular vocative)
vernātiōnēs (plural vocative)

English: vernation

French: vernation

From vernāre (“to be verdant, to flourish”) + -tiō (“-tion: forming abstract nouns”), from vernus (“springlike”) + -āre (verb-forming suffix), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥.

suffix

sloughing, the shedding of old skin by snakes


seps

la-noun

sēps m (genitive sēpis); third declension

sēps (canonical masculine)
sēpis (genitive)
sēps (nominative singular)
sēpēs (nominative plural)
sēpis (genitive singular)
sēpum (genitive plural)
sēpī (dative singular)
sēpibus (dative plural)
sēpem (accusative singular)
sēpēs (accusative plural)
sēpe (ablative singular)
sēpibus (ablative plural)
sēps (singular vocative)
sēpēs (plural vocative)

A kind of snake, whose bite occasioned putrefaction


excetra

excetra f (genitive excetrae); first declension

excetrae (genitive)
excetra (nominative singular)
excetrae (nominative plural)
excetrae (genitive singular)
excetrārum (genitive plural)
excetrae (dative singular)
excetrīs (dative plural)
excetram (accusative singular)
excetrās (accusative plural)
excetrā (ablative singular)
excetrīs (ablative plural)
excetra (singular vocative)
excetrae (plural vocative)

Unclear, but a derivation from Ancient Greek ἔχιδνα (ékhidna) through Etruscan is possible.

(figuratively) viper, snake (a spiteful or treacherous person)