cerastes
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cerastes
1768; < New Latin < Greek kerástēs literally, something horned, equivalent to kerat- stem of kéras horn + -tēs noun suffix; earlier in sense “asp,” Middle English < Medieval Latin, Latin, as above
Vocabulary lists containing cerastes
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The rattlesnake Crotalus cerastes is venomous to humans.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
America is the country of the rattlesnake; Africa, of the cerastes; and Asia, of the hooded snake, or cobra di capello.
From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir
Little serpents and cerastes they had for hair, wherewith their savage brows were bound.
From Divine Comedy, Norton's Translation, Hell by Norton, Charles Eliot
A dangerous serpent this; one never sees him, or hears him speak, or observes the dark glitter of his eye, without being reminded of a cerastes lythely rustling through the dry grass towards its victim.
From St. Winifred's, or The World of School by Earnshaw, H. C. (Harold C.)
They came as if drawn by a spell: venomous toads and snakes of every description, asp and adder, cerastes and acontias; only one old serpent, disabled apparently by age, ignored the summons.
From Works of Lucian of Samosata — Volume 03 by Fowler, F. G. (Francis George)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
