cobra

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkəʊbɹə/, /ˈkɒbɹə/ (UK); /ˈkoʊbɹə/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is short for cobra capello (1671),^[2][3] borrowed from Portuguese cobra de capello (“snake with a hood”),^{[4][2][3][5][6]} from cobra (“snake”), from Latin colubra (“snake, female serpent”), feminine of coluber (“snake”),^{[4][2][3][5][7]} and capello (“hood”), from Vulgar Latin *cappellus (“little cape”), diminutive of Late Latin cappa (see cape).^[2][8][6] The origin of the Latin word is uncertain;^[2][3] de Vaan suggests a link with Latin colus (“distaff”), as an animal that winds around its own axis.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The venomous hooded snake of India and neighbouring regions (1802 as cobra;^[2][3][5][9] the full cobra de capello is first recorded in 1668 according to Merriam-Webster's Word Histories).^[6]

Semantic evolution

After Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498, the Portuguese met a snake that could spread the skin of its neck into a hood.^[6] The local name was Hindi नाग (nāg),^[6][10] but the Portuguese called it the “hooded snake”.^[6] The full name was borrowed into English in the 17th century and shortened to cobra by the 19th.^[6][2] The name was later extended to related African snakes^[5][11] and, in commerce, to leather made from cobra skin.^[4][11]

Timeline

• 1668 – cobra de capello.^[6]
• 1671 – cobra capello.^[2]
• 1802 – cobra.^[2][3][5]
• 1817 – first quotation in the OED.^[12]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of several highly venomous Asian and African elapid snakes, chiefly of the genus Naja, that spread the skin of the neck into a hood when excited.
2. Any of several related snakes, such as the king cobra or the ringhals.
3. Leather made from the skin of a cobra.

Related words

• cape
• chapel
• naga
• mongoose

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
12. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press