serpentine English · revision 1043

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɜː.pənˌtaɪn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsɝ.pənˌtaɪn/, /ˈsɝ.pənˌtin/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|serpentine]], [[bor|fro|serpentin]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la-lat|serpentīnus|t=of a serpent]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|serpēns|t=snake]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The name of the mineral is from the Medieval Latin nouns ''serpentīnum'' and ''serpentīna'', uses of the same adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, “having the evil qualities of a serpent, devilishly cunning” (1387–88);^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) as a noun, a plant thought to cure snakebite (before 1400).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “of or resembling a serpent” is recorded from about 1420.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The meaning “winding, sinuous” dates from 1615.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) As a noun the word named a cannon (c. 1450)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a greenish rock or mineral, perhaps named for its colour or for markings like a snake's skin (1426).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The winding lake in Hyde Park, London, called the Serpentine, was made in 1730.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1387–88 – having the evil qualities of a serpent; satanic.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1400 – noun, a plant used against snakebite.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1408 – noun, the greenish mineral (Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1420 – of or resembling a serpent.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – a kind of cannon.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1615 – winding, sinuous.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or resembling a [[serpent]], in form or movement.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Winding or turning one way and another; [[sinuous]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Subtly sly, cunning or tempting.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A greenish, often mottled mineral or rock consisting mainly of hydrous [[magnesium]] [[silicate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something that winds sinuously.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(historical)'' A kind of [[cannon]] used from the 15th to the 17th century.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To follow a winding course.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[serpentinely]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[serpent]]

+ * [[herpes]]

+ * [[sinuous]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}