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One of the Ophidia; a snake or serpent.

The worship of serpents.

One versed in the natural history of serpents.

That part of natural history which treats of the ophidians, or serpents.

Divination by serpents, as by their manner of eating, or by their coils.

Having the form of a serpent.

Feeding on serpents; -- said of certain birds and reptiles.

Serpent worship or the use of serpents as magical agencies.

Of or pertaining to a serpent. [Obs.]

A constellation in the Northern Hemisphere, delineated as a man holding a serpent in his hands; -- called also Serpentarius.

A division of serpents which have some of the posterior maxillary teeth grooved for fangs.

dot). It also usually contains pyroxene, enstatite, chromite, etc. It is often altered to serpentine.

, to misapply; to misinterpret designedly; as, to pervert one's words. Dryden. He, in the serpent, had perverted Eve. Milton.

potash, and some fluorine. It is characteristic of crystalline limestone or dolomite and serpentine. See Mica.

A fibrous variety of serpentine.

on sumac. -- Poison fang (Zoöl.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See Illust. under Fang. -- Poison gland (Biol.),…

A suborder of serpents including those that have permanently erect grooved poison fangs, with ordinary teeth behind them in the jaws. It includes the cobras, the asps, and the sea snakes. Called also Proteroglyphia.

Any species of serpentiform lizards of the family Pygopodidæ, which have rudimentary hind legs near the anal cleft, but lack fore legs.

d larva (Zoöl.), the larva of a fly of the genus Eristalis. See Eristalis. -- Rat-tailed serpent (Zoöl.), the fer-de-lance. -- Rat-tailed shrew (Zoöl.), the musk shrew.

name given to certain American species of the composite genus Prenanthes (P. alba and P. serpentaria), formerly asserted to cure the bite of the rattlesnake. Calling also lion's foot, gall of the earth, and white lettuce. -- Rattlesnake's master (Bot.) (a) A species of Agave (Agave Virginica) growing in the Southern…