adder's

Small snake's belonging

Adder's is the possessive form of adder, a venomous snake.

It appears mainly in plant names that evoke the snake's forked tongue or spotted pattern: adder's-tongue fern, adder's-mouth orchid.

These folk names reflect old traditions of naming plants after creatures they supposedly resembled or could cure.

snake

venom

Injected animal poison

  • fangsSharp piercing teeth
  • bitePierce with teeth
  • scalesPlates or weighing devices

coil · pit · hiss · strike · den · slough · forked · hood · poison · rattlesnake

botanical

tongue

Oral muscle for taste

  • fernSpore-spreading vascular plant
  • mouthOral opening
  • spearPole with sharp point

wort · leaf · herb · wildflower · frond · woodland · shade · native · perennial · spring

Phrases
Family

adder, adders

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G