vi·per
(vī′pər)n.
1. Any of various venomous snakes of the family Viperidae, having a thick heavy body and a single pair of long hollow fangs, especially the Eurasian and African species of the subfamily Viperinae, which lack the sensory pits of the pit vipers.
2. Any of several harmless snakes sometimes believed to be venomous.
3. A person regarded as malicious or treacherous.
[Middle English vipere, from Old French, from Latin vīpera, snake, contraction of *vīvipera : vīvus, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots + parere, to give birth; see perə- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
viper
(ˈvaɪpə)n
1. (Animals) any venomous Old World snake of the family Viperidae, esp any of the genus Vipera (the adder and related forms), having hollow fangs in the upper jaw that are used to inject venom
2. (Animals) any of various other snakes, such as the horned viper
3. (Animals) See pit viper
4. a malicious or treacherous person
[C16: from Latin vīpera, perhaps from vīvus living + parere to bear, referring to a tradition that the viper was viviparous]
ˈviper-ˌlike adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
vi•per
(ˈvaɪ pər)n.
1. any venomous snake of the cosmopolitan family Viperidae, characterized by a pair of hollow fangs that can be erected for biting and injecting venom: includes the adders, puff adders, and pit vipers.
2. any of various other venomous or supposedly venomous snakes.
3. a malignant, spiteful, or treacherous person.
[1520–30; < Latin vīpera, haplological variant of *vīvipera, n. use of feminine of *vīviper, later (as re-formation) vīviparus viviparous]
vi′per•ish, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  viper - venomous Old World snakes characterized by hollow venom-conducting fangs in the upper jawfamily Viperidae, Viperidae - Old World vipers Bitis arietans, puff adder - large African viper that inflates its body when alarmed Bitis gabonica, gaboon viper - large heavy-bodied brilliantly marked and extremely venomous west African viper cerastes, Cerastes cornutus, horned asp, horned viper, sand viper - highly venomous viper of northern Africa and southwestern Asia having a horny spine above each eye pit viper - New World vipers with hollow fangs and a heat-sensitive pit on each side of the head |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
أفْعى
змия
zmije
hugorm
viperovipuro
kyykyykäärme
vipera
naîra/snákur
vipera
angis
odze
năpârcă
vretenica
gad
huggorm
engerek yılanı
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
viper
(ˈvaipə) noun an adder.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
vi·per
n. víbora.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
viper
n víboraEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.