Etymologically
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serpent

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈsɜːpənt/[1]
  • US: /ˈsɝpənt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English serpent, also sarpent,[2] borrowed from Old French serpent, also sarpent,[3][4][2][5] and directly borrowed from Latin serpēns (“snake; creeping thing”).[4][2] The Latin noun is the present participle of serpō (“to creep”) used as a noun,[5][3][6][7] from Proto-Italic *serpō,[1] from Proto-Indo-European *serp- (“to crawl, creep”).[3][4][1] It is cognate with Sanskrit सर्प (sarpá, “snake”),[1][7][4] Ancient Greek ἕρπω (hérpō, “to creep”), the source of herpes and herpetology,[6][5][7] ἑρπετόν (herpetón, “creeping animal, serpent”)[7][4] and Albanian gjarpër (“snake”).[4][7][3] Klein thinks the Latin verb is probably not related to rēpō (“to creep”), the source of reptile.[7] The Latin word also gave Italian serpente and Spanish serpiente.[5] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1113–19.[8] In the sense "snake" it displaced the native Old English nǣdre (“snake, serpent”), the source of adder.[1] The verb (1606) is borrowed from French serpenter, from the noun.[5][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The serpent that tempted Eve in Genesis, the Devil: before 1300, in the Fall and Passion.[5] A limbless reptile, a snake: about 1305, in the Land of Cokaygne.[5] Barnhart dates the word before 1300,[4] Etymonline about 1300, with both senses.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word covered any creeping or venomous creature, and the MED includes reptiles and the scorpion;[2][5] that wider sense lasted until the late 17th century.[5] Chaucer used it 19 times,[11] already as a symbol of envy and malice (about 1374) and in phrases on the serpent's guile.[5] From 1600, in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, it was used of a treacherous person.[5] Its use for spiral or winding things includes a bass wind instrument with a twisting tube, recorded from 1730 in Etymonline,[3] the 18th century in Hoad.[12] The medieval belief that the serpent's tongue was its "sting" lies behind serpent's tongue for stinging speech.[3][5] The Century Dictionary (1902), quoted by Etymonline, judged serpent and snake to mean the same, serpent being the more formal word;[3] Collins now calls it a literary or dialect word for a snake.[13]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – the serpent of Genesis, the Devil.[5]
  • c. 1305 – a snake.[5]
  • c. 1374 – a symbol of envy, malice or cunning.[5]
  • 1388 – a representation of a serpent.[5]
  • c. 1440 – any creeping or venomous creature (obsolete by 1691).[5]
  • 1556 – the constellation Hydra (obsolete by 1674).[5]
  • 1599 – the constellation Serpens.[5]
  • 1600 – a treacherous, malicious person.[5]
  • 1606 – verb, to wind like a serpent.[5]
  • 1608 – a sea monster like a serpent.[5]
  • 1730 – a bass wind instrument.[3]
  • 1895 – a pale green fashion shade.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary) A snake, especially a large one.[13][10][5]
  2. the Serpent: the tempter of Eve in Genesis; Satan, the devil.[13][10][5]
  3. A sly, treacherous or malicious person: She had trusted a serpent in her own household.[13][10][5]
  4. A sea serpent.[10][5]
  5. A figure of a serpent, used as an ornament or symbol.[10][5]
  6. An old bass wind instrument with a winding tube, related to the cornett.[13][12][3]
  7. A firework that moves along with a winding motion when lit.[13]
  8. (archaic) Any creeping, hissing or stinging creature, such as a crocodile or a toad.[10][5]

Verb

  1. (rare) To wind or move like a serpent: The river serpents through the marsh.[10][5][9]

Word family

  • serpentarium
  • serpent star

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  7. ^ a b c d e f Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  12. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  13. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins