serpent

American  

[sur-puhnt] / ˈsɜr pənt /

noun

serpents plural

1. a snake.

2. a wily, treacherous, or malicious person.

3. the Devil; Satan. Genesis 3:1–5.

4. a firework that burns with a serpentine motion or flame.

5. an obsolete wooden wind instrument with a serpentine shape and a deep, coarse tone.

6. Astronomy. Serpent, the constellation Serpens.

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serpent British  

/ ˈsɜːpənt /

noun

1. a literary or dialect word for snake

2. Old Testament a manifestation of Satan as a guileful tempter (Genesis 3:1–5)

3. a sly, deceitful, or unscrupulous person

4. an obsolete wind instrument resembling a snake in shape, the bass form of the cornett

5. a firework that moves about with a serpentine motion when ignited

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serpent Cultural  

1. The creature in the Book of Genesis that tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, thus committing the first act of the Fall of Man. In the New Testament, the serpent of Genesis is identified with Satan.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• serpents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of serpent

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin serpent-, stem of serpēns “crawling”; see origin at Serpens

Explanation

A serpent is a snake. If you keep a serpent as a pet, you may have to get used to feeding it live mice. While you're probably more likely to use the word snake for this slithery reptile, serpent tends to be the word that shows up in folk tales and mythology. Serpents have represented qualities ranging from evil to fertility to poison throughout history, and even today the symbol of medicine is a staff entwined by a serpent. The Latin root is serpentem, "creeping thing," from serpere, "to creep."

Example Sentences

Fugard’s friendship — along with that of fellow Serpent Player Winston Ntshona — became among the most formative of Kani’s life.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

The Pakistani-American writer Daniyal Mueenuddin begins his first novel, “This Is Where the Serpent Lives,” in the most purposefully old-fashioned of ways: with a list of its principal characters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Another highlight of the festivities was a 160-ft-long fire-breathing snake called Siantha the Samhain Serpent.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025

Two American Black Hawk helicopters crashed in which city in 1993 during part of Operation Gothic Serpent?

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2024

The Abyssal Serpent circles us, and I am terrified.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• snake
• viper