cerastes
Americannoun
plural
cerastesnoun
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
The original term here is shephiphon, and is understood by several authors to denote the cerastes, a very poisonous kind of viper, distinguished by having horns.
From Palestine or the Holy Land From the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Russell, Michael
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
The hieroglyphs following seem to be zigzag, line, semicircle, zigzag, hoe, mouth, mouth, cerastes, semicircle, two arms united, line, eye, zigzag, cerastes.
From Cleopatra's Needle A History of the London Obelisk, with an Exposition of the Hieroglyphics by King, James
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.)
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.
