serpent
Cunning legless reptile
A serpent is a snake, especially a large or venomous one.
The word sounds more literary or biblical than snake: The serpent tempted Eve in the garden.
Figuratively, a serpent is a treacherous person—someone who seems harmless but strikes when trusted.
The association with deception runs deep in Western culture.
Plates or weighing devices
- slitherGlide smoothly, sinuously
- fangsSharp piercing teeth
- venomInjected animal poison
- cobraHooded venomous serpent
viper · python · boa · anaconda · mamba · asp · adder · rattlesnake
Self-consuming serpent emblem
Scriptural original paradise
- forbidden fruitEnticing thing that's prohibited
- EveGenesis matriarch
- original sinInherited spiritual corruption
- seductionEnticing someone romantically
enticement · beguile · lure · temptress · fall from grace · cunning · deceit · guile
Looping around repeatedly
- slitheringSmooth limbless locomotion
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- undulatingMoving in waves
- curvedSmoothly bent, not angular
twisting · lithe · supple · spiral · meandering · sinuosity · curving · flexible
scales
Plates or weighing devices
cobra · viper · python · boa · anaconda · mamba · asp · adder · rattlesnake · constrictor
ouroboros
Self-consuming serpent emblem
Eden
Scriptural original paradise
- forbidden fruitEnticing thing that's prohibited
- EveGenesis matriarch
- original sinInherited spiritual corruption
seduction · enticement · beguile · lure · temptress · fall from grace · cunning · deceit · guile · trickster
coiling
Looping around repeatedly
- slitheringSmooth limbless locomotion
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- undulatingMoving in waves
curved · twisting · lithe · supple · spiral · meandering · sinuosity · curving · flexible · flowing
shawm
Medieval double-reed woodwind
- Biblical ReferencesAdam and Eve, ark, forbidden fruit, Garden of Eden, Ten Commandments
- Christian loreAdam, Eve, Adam and Eve, Noah, Satan
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- animal symbolsfish symbol, eagle emblem, scarab, griffin, phoenix
- Biblical creaturesLeviathan, lamb, donkey, demon, camel
- DelphiApollo, oracle, Temple of Apollo, Pythian Games, Mount Parnassus
- sea serpentLegendary aquatic monster
- serpentine beltLooped automotive accessory drive
- serpent god
- serpent's tongueSnake's chemosensory organ
- winged serpentSnake with flight appendages
- Serpent MoundSnake effigy earthwork
serpentine, serpents, serpentlike, serpentines, serpentarium