puff adder

noun

a large, thick-bodied, African viper, Bitis arietans, that inflates its body and hisses when disturbed.

a similar viper, B. inornata, native to southern Africa.

Origin of puff adder

First recorded in 1780–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for puff-adder

The puff-adder always springs backwards, and can make extraordinary leaps.
Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa|Alfred W. Drayson
Then you are a lucky man, for that beast is a puff-adder, a most deadly snake!
With Rifle and Bayonet|F.S. Brereton
A native ran forward and pinned down the puff-adder with his walking-stick of which the top was forked.
Smith and the Pharaohs, and Other Tales|Henry Rider Haggard
Another escape was from a puff-adder, a snake equally as deadly as the cobra.
The White Chief of the Caffres|A.W. Drayson

Of all the Cape snakes the puff-adder is not only the deadliest, but by far the most to be feared.
Home Life on an Ostrich Farm|Annie Martin

British Dictionary definitions for puff-adder

puff adder

noun

a large venomous African viper, Bitis arietans, that is yellowish-grey with brown markings and inflates its body when alarmed

another name for hognose snake

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for puff-adder

puff-adder

1789 of a South African snake that is venomous; 1882 of a western U.S. snake that is not; from puff (v.) + adder.

puff adder

noun

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Origin of puff adder

Examples from the Web for puff-adder

puff adder

noun

puff-adder