Synonyms for adders


Grammar : Noun
Spell : ad-er
Phonetic Transcription : ˈæd ər


Définition of adders

Origin :
  • Old English næddre "a snake, serpent, viper," from West Germanic *nædro "a snake" (cf. Old Norse naðra, Middle Dutch nadre, Old High German natra, German Natter, Gothic nadrs), from PIE root *netr- (cf. Latin natrix "water snake," probably by folk-association with nare "to swim;" Old Irish nathir, Welsh neidr "adder").
  • The modern form represents a faulty separation 14c.-16c. into an adder, for which see also apron, auger, nickname, humble pie, umpire. Nedder is still a northern English dialect form. Folklore connection with deafness is via Psalm lviii:1-5. The adder is said to stop up its ears to avoid hearing the snake charmer called in to drive it away. Adderbolt (late 15c.) was a former name for "dragonfly."
  • As in viper : noun snake
Example sentences :
  • In one of these toads and adders were the companions of the captive.
  • Extract from : « English Villages » by P. H. Ditchfield
  • But he was so scared by the sight of this adders' nest that he has never turned up since.
  • Extract from : « Abbe Mouret's Transgression » by Emile Zola
  • He knew that his destiny was to sleep on a bed of thorns, to feed on adders.
  • Extract from : « The Arrow of Gold » by Joseph Conrad
  • Their tongues are forked, and the poison of adders lies beneath their lips.
  • Extract from : « Frank Merriwell's Bravery » by Burt L. Standish
  • They were supposed to bring snakes or adders into the house.
  • Extract from : « Welsh Folk-Lore » by Elias Owen
  • And the wicked there drink the blood of adders, but have nothing to eat at all.
  • Extract from : « Finnish Legends for English Children » by R. Eivind
  • His invectives ate in like corrosives, his metaphors bit like adders.
  • Extract from : « The Thunders of Silence » by Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
  • March comes wi' adders' heads and gangs wi' peacocks' tails.
  • Extract from : « The Proverbs of Scotland » by Alexander Hislop
  • It is only these dull trading Bristol folk who are blind as bats and deaf as adders.
  • Extract from : « Bristol Bells » by Emma Marshall
  • Then the smaller animals—frogs, adders, field-mice;—none escape.
  • Extract from : « The Insect » by Jules Michelet

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019