adder en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈædɚ/ (US)
Etymology
From Middle English nadder, addere, rebracketing of “a naddere” as “an addere”, from Old English nǣdre (“snake”), from Proto-West Germanic *nadrā, from Proto-Germanic *nadrǭ, from pre-Germanic *néh₁treh₂, variant of Proto-Indo-European *n̥h₁trih₂, from *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”). See also West Frisian njirre, Dutch adder, German Natter, Otter; also Welsh neidr, Latin natrīx (“watersnake”), Dutch naaien.
Meanings
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(obsolete) Any snake.
CALIBAN: His spirits hear me, / And yet I needs must curse. But they'll nor pinch / Fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i'th' mire, / Nor lead me like a firebrand in the dark / Out of my way, unless he bid 'em; but / For every trifle are they set upon me, / Sometimes like apes that mow and chatter at me, / And after bite me; then like hedgehogs, which / Lie tumbling in my barefoot way, and mount / Their pricks at my footfall; sometimes am I / All wound with adders, who with their cloven tongues / Do hiss me into madness—
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
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(UK) A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ A small venomous serpent of the genus Vipera
These include the county's [Cumbria's] only venomous snake - the adder - which relies on exposed elements to successfully breed its young.
2021 August 25, Nick Brodrick, “Flourishing Flora and Fauna”, in RAIL, number 938, page 51:Entirely filled with the image of another, her heart, indeed, had the deaf ear of the adder, which heedeth not the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 245:
- (UK) A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ A small venomous serpent of the genus Vipera ▸ A common European adder (Vipera berus).
- A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ A puff adder, of Africa (genus Bitis).
- (Canada, US) A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ Any of several small nonvenomous snakes resembling adders ▸ A milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum).
- (Canada, US) A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ Any of several small nonvenomous snakes resembling adders ▸ A hog-nosed snake, of genus Heterodon of harmless colubrid snakes found in North America
- A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ Certain venomous snakes resembling other adders ▸ Death adders (Acanthophis spp.), elapid snakes found in Southeast Asia and Australia
- A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling a viper. ▸ Certain venomous snakes resembling other adders ▸ A northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen), a venomous viper found in the eastern United States
- A sea stickleback or adder fish (Spinachia spinachia).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| edder | alternative, dialectal | lexicographic | |
| adders | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
adderbolt · adder fish · pit adder · adder bead · adder stone · sea adder · water adder · puff adder · death adder · adder fly · horned adder · adderlike · night adder · adderwort · hissing adder · Gaboon adder · deaf adder · common death adder · adder mouth · Kimberley death adder · butterfly adder · pit-adder
Translations (92)
el οχιά (viper) · scn culorbia (snake) · ru гадю́ка (snake) · zza zıngırok (snake) · tr engerek (viper) · dsb zmija (viper) · pt serpente (snake) · lv odze (viper) · hy իժ (viper) · bg пепелянка (viper) · grc ἔχιδνα (viper) · scn scursuni (viper) · ru змея́ (snake) · ko 독사 (snake) · mhr шемгишке (viper) · af adder (snake) · scn scursuni (snake) · sa पृदाकु (viper) · gl sacaveira (viper) · ro viperă (viper) · sv huggorm (viper) · ka გველგესლა (viper) · id senawan (snake) · izh kirjava mato (viper) · sa पृदाकु (snake) · ga nathair (snake) · bg змия (snake) · nds Krüüzadder (viper) · nl adder (snake) · sh guja (snake) · mk гуја (viper) · io vipero (viper) · de Natter (snake) · sh guja (viper) · pt cobra (snake) · cmn 毒蛇 (snake) · it marasso (viper) · pt víbora (viper) · el έχιδνα (viper) · uk гадю́ка (viper) · th งู (snake) · es víbora (viper) · gl bichorro (viper) · mk шарка (snake) · la aspis (viper) · es culebra (snake) · cmn 蝰蛇 (snake) · ja クサリヘビ (viper) · scn lìpira (viper) · ak nanka (viper) · ka გველი (snake) · nl adder (viper) · de Kreuzotter (viper) · gl áspide (viper) · gl naia (viper) · th อสรพิษ (snake) · gl pezoira (snake) · cmn 蝰蛇 (viper) · gl cóbrega (snake) · ja 鎖蛇 (viper) · fr vipère (viper) · uk змія́ (snake) · fi kyy (viper) · gl cobra (snake) · mrj шим кӹшкӹ (viper) · es serpiente (snake) · cs zmije (viper) · nds Kriizadder (viper) · gl becha (snake) · hy օձ (snake) · de Otter (viper) · et rästik (viper) · da hugorm (viper) · af adder (viper) · az gürzə (viper) · it vipera (viper) · gl liscáncere (snake) · izh jaadumato (viper) · nds Adder (viper) · ja 毒蛇 (snake) · pl żmija (viper) · nds Adder (snake) · fi käärme (snake) · ca escurçó (viper) · de Viper (viper) · gd nathair (snake) · ru гадю́ка (viper) · gl quiobra (snake) · ast víbora (viper) · izh gadjukka (viper) · ga nathair nimhe (viper) · ast culiebra (snake)