snakelike en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *sneganą Proto-Germanic *snakaną Proto-West Germanic *snakan Proto-Indo-European *-ō Proto-Germanic *-ô Proto-West Germanic *-ō Proto-West Germanic *snakō Old English snaca Middle English snake English snake Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -like English -like English snakelike From snake + -like.
Meanings
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Resembling a snake; long, thin and flexible, or waving about in a snake-like manner; snaky.
I could, however, clearly distinguish that the swathed mummy-like form before me was that of a tall and lovely woman, instinct with beauty in every part, and also with a certain snake-like grace which I had never seen anything to equal before.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
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(figuratively) Characteristic of or resembling a snake.
a snakelike forked tongue
Skinks are lizards, but some species have lost their limbs over eons of evolution, giving them a snakelike look.
2020 October 11, Veronique Greenwood, “How Some Skinks Lost Their Legs and Then Evolved New Ones”, in The New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most snakelike | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more snakelike | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
colubrine · elapine · anguine · serpentine · anguinous · ophidian · serpentiginous
Translations (19)
nl slangachtig (resembling a snake) · uk змієподі́бний (resembling a snake) · pl wężowaty (resembling a snake) · ru змееподо́бный (resembling a snake) · el οφιοειδής (resembling a snake) · sv serpentinsk (resembling a snake) · de schlangenartig (resembling a snake) · cs hadovitý (resembling a snake) · sv ormliknande (resembling a snake) · pt serpentiforme (resembling a snake) · mk зми́ест (resembling a snake) · grc ὀφιοειδής (resembling a snake) · uk змія́стий (resembling a snake) · uk зміюва́тий (resembling a snake) · la serpentīnus (resembling a snake) · ru змееви́дный (resembling a snake) · mk зми́јулест (resembling a snake) · mk зми́јолик (resembling a snake) · da slangeagtig (resembling a snake)