English → Latin
“serpent” in Latin
serpōto creep, crawl, move slowly (of an animal); to move slowly or imperceptibly, to creep in or along, proceed gradually, tanguissnake, serpent, dragon; Hydra; the constellation Hydracolubersnake, serpentdracōA dragon; a kind of snake or serpent.; The standard of a Roman cohort, shaped like an Egyptian crocodile ('dragon') headā̆stūtuscrafty, cunning, shrewd, clever, tricksy (adept at using tricks)fallāxdeceptive, deceitful; fallacious, spuriousfraudulentusdeceitful, fraudulent; dishonest, falsecatusclever, intelligent, sagacious, clear-thinking; cunning, crafty, sly; shrill, sharp, clear-sounding
The English word serpent itself goes back to Latin serpō, through serpēns.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
serpent
PROP., serpens (general term): anguis (a large, formidable serpent): coluber (a small serpent): draco (poetical): anguiculus (a little serpent). A serpent’s cast-off skin or slough, auguina pellis (Cato); spolium serpentis (Plaut.); exuviae serpentis (Verg., Aen., 2, 473). The sting of a serpent, ictus serpentis: bite of a serpent, morsus anguis (Cic.).
Figuratively, A crafty or treacherous person, homo versutus, astutus, fallax, fraudulentus.
A kind of fire-work, *draco volans igneus
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for serpent?
- The usual Latin words for “serpent” are serpō, anguis, coluber; also dracō, ā̆stūtus, fallāx. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.