adderbolt en · NOUN
Etymology
From adder (“venomous snake”) + bolt (“arrow”).
Meanings
-
(UK, dialectal) A dragonfly.
Other Animals I observ'd to have yet a greater number, as the Dragon-Fly or Adderbolt […].
1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section XXXIX:This philosopher has also found an insect fish, which transforms into an adder-bolt.
1742, John Martyn, Ephraim Chambers, transl., The Philosophical History and Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, volume II, page 355:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| adderbolts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |