noun · femininethird declension
serpēns1
serpēns f or m (genitive serpentis)
Classical[ˈsɛr.pẽːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛr.pens]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- A serpent, snake
- either Draco or Serpens
- A louse
- Any creeping animal
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
animal longum sine pedibus, quod per terram sē trahit.serpēns -entis f — in Mille Verba, Animālia
anguis, bēstia sine pedibusserpēns -entis (m) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 8
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | serpēns | serpentēs |
| genitive | serpentis | serpentium serpentum |
| dative | serpentī | serpentibus |
| accusative | serpentem | serpentēs |
| ablative | serpente | serpentibus |
| vocative | serpēns | serpentēs |
serpens, entis, v. serpo
I. fin.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
serpēns entis (gen plur. -tium; poet. also -tūm), f or (poet.) m
P. of serpo, a creeping thing, creeper, crawler, snake, serpent : serpentes, quarum vis, etc., S.: quaedam serpentes ortae extra aquam, etc. perdomita, O.: magnorum Corpora serpentūm. O.—<*>
Origins
From the present active participle of serpō (“crawl, creep”). Cognate with Sanskrit स॒र्प (sarpá, “snake, serpent”), Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν (herpetón, “serpent, creeping animal”), Albanian gjarpër (“snake”) (Proto-Albanian *serpena).
Descendants
- Catalanserp
- Catalanserpent
- Italianserpe
- Italianserpente
- Occitansèrp
- Frenchserpentfrom Old French serpent
- Englishserpentfrom Old French serpent
- Portugueseserpente
- Romanianșarpe
- Romanianșerpânță
In English words that came into English from serpēns
- serpentserpēns
- serpentineserpentīnus
- serpentiformserpēns
- serpentariaserpentāria