Parseltongue
Snake language gift
Parseltongue is the language of snakes in the Harry Potter universe—a rare magical ability allowing a speaker to communicate with serpents.
Someone with this gift is a Parselmouth.
The ability carries sinister associations, being linked to dark wizards: Harry was disturbed to discover he could speak Parseltongue.
Outside the fictional context, the term occasionally describes hissing, sibilant speech or cryptic, snake-like communication.
Sharp sss sound
- sibilantFricative with hiss quality
- Harry PotterFictional adolescent sorcerer
- SlytherinCunning wizards' faction
- hereditaryPassed through generations
innate · spoken · whispers · communication · verbalization · utterance · phonetics · vocalization
Malevolent supernatural practice
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- Chamber of SecretsConcealed serpent's dwelling
- basiliskReptile that kills by looking
- purebloodUnmixed ancestral heritage
Salazar Slytherin · Voldemort · ancestry · Tom Riddle · enchantment · wizarding world · cursed · stigma
Hooded venomous serpent
- pythonNonvenomous squeezing snake
- viperFanged toxic serpent
- boaSqueeze-killer or neckwear
- reptileCold-blooded scaled vertebrate
scales · fangs · slithering · cold-blooded · snake charming · venomous · constrictor · adder
Sense of unease about motives
- fearEmotional response to threat
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- misunderstoodIncorrectly comprehended
taboo · social stigma · distrust · ostracized · controversial · isolating · mysterious · ominous
hissing
Sharp sss sound
- sibilantFricative with hiss quality
- Harry PotterFictional adolescent sorcerer
- SlytherinCunning wizards' faction
hereditary · innate · spoken · whispers · communication · verbalization · utterance · phonetics · vocalization · intelligible
dark magic
Malevolent supernatural practice
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- Chamber of SecretsConcealed serpent's dwelling
- basiliskReptile that kills by looking
Salazar Slytherin · Voldemort · pureblood · ancestry · Tom Riddle · enchantment · wizarding world · cursed · stigma · dark arts
cobra
Hooded venomous serpent
reptile · scales · fangs · slithering · cold-blooded · snake charming · venomous · constrictor · adder · asp
suspicion
Sense of unease about motives
- fearEmotional response to threat
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- outsiderOne excluded from group
misunderstood · taboo · social stigma · distrust · ostracized · controversial · isolating · mysterious · ominous · foreboding
Parseltongueuniversal language
Speech all understand
lingua franca · plain English · vernacular · everyday speech · common speech
ParseltonguePatronus
Conjured protective spirit entity