adder

¹ American  

[ad-er] / ˈæd ər /

noun

1. the common European viper, Vipera berus.

2. any of various other venomous or harmless snakes resembling the viper.

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adder ² American  

[ad-er] / ˈæd ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that adds.

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adder ¹ British  

/ ˈædə /

noun

1. Also called: viper.  a common viper, Vipera berus, that is widely distributed in Europe, including Britain, and Asia and is typically dark greyish in colour with a black zigzag pattern along the back

2. any of various similar venomous or nonvenomous snakes

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adder ² British  

/ ˈædə /

noun

1. a person or thing that adds, esp a single element of an electronic computer, the function of which is to add a single digit of each of two inputs

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Etymology

Origin of adder¹

before 950; late Middle English; replacing Middle English nadder ( a nadder becoming an adder by misdivision; apron ), Old English næddre; cognate with Old Saxon nādra, Old High German nātara ( German Natter ), Old Norse nathra snake, Gothic nadrs adder, Old Irish nathir snake, Latin natrix water snake

Origin of adder²

First recorded in 1570–80; add + -er ¹

Example Sentences

So why do cells use this adder method?

From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2024

They can strike with the venom of an adder when the moment arrives.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2023

To investigate, Ms. Folwell set about dissecting the tail of a female death adder.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2022

According to the historic picture and photograph archive Look and Learn, "in old English, the words orange, adder, and apron all began with the letter n, and so were spelt narenge, nadder, and napron."

From Salon • Jul. 10, 2022

“Do you know of Asmodeus the giant adder, and where might I find him, sir?”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• cobra