Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A venomous snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) of the eastern and central United States, having a reddish-brown body marked with darker crossbands arranged in an hourglass pattern.
- n. A Northerner who sympathized with the South during the Civil War.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A common venomous serpent of the United States, Trigonocephalus or Ancistrodon contortrix. It is of rather small size, generally under two feet in length, and of a dull pale-chestnut or hazel color with numerous (15-25) inverted, Y-shaped, dark blotches. The ground color is brighter-reddish on the head, the sides of which present a cream-colored streak. It belongs to the same genus as the water-moccasin (T. piscivorus), but is not aquatic. Unlike the rattlesnake, the copperhead has the habit of striking without previous movement or warning, whence its name is a synonym of hidden danger or secret hostility. Also called
copperbell and red viper. - n. Hence During the civil war in the United States, a northern sympathizer with the rebellion: so called by the Unionists.
- n. A term of ridicule or contempt applied to the early Dutch colonists of New York.
- n. A private token, equal to one cent, struck in the United States during the Civil War.
- n. In ornithology, the yellow-headed blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. of the western United States: so called from the reddish-yellow color of its head.
Wiktionary
- n. One of two species of snakes, with a copper-colored head.
- n. pejorative Someone with ginger hair.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A poisonous American serpent (Ancistrodon conotortrix), closely allied to the rattlesnake, but without rattles; -- called also
copper-belly , andred viper . - n. U.S. A nickname applied to a person in the Northern States who sympathized with the South during the Civil War.
WordNet 3.0
- n. common coppery brown pit viper of upland eastern United States
- n. venomous but sluggish reddish-brown snake of Australia
Etymologies
- copper + head (Wiktionary)
Examples
“After years of handling snakes I still get the willies form snakes. rattlesnakes usually give you a warning but the silent copperhead is just out to get ya. so I guess copperheads are my 2nd biggest fear of the outdoors.”
What's more fearsome in the wilds, a man eating shark, or a menacing rattle snake?
“The copperhead is plentiful here if you get to rocky areas, especially camping areas of the cons.dept. in Ozarks.”
“The copperhead is a poisonous serpent, that gives no warning of its approach, and hence is a type of a concealed or secret foe.”
“The copperhead is a poisonous snake common in the southern United States.”
“But while they remain, as they do, in the category of those that are blessed, I cannot be frightened at the names of 'copperhead' and”
“Still, I did not like the idea of being a "copperhead;" -- for that was the unhandsome designation which”
“copperhead," and the moccasin; and it is from the bites of one of these varieties that the great majority of reported deaths are caused.”
“copperhead" was, so I will go directly at my story without introductory remark, as is my way.”
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 Epigrams, On With the Dance, Negligible Tales
“In Tuesday's pictures, a man performs with a copperhead snake in Malaysia, children celebrate Teachers 'Day in Jordan, an Australian wins swimming gold in New Delhi and more.”
“His search for an alternative to time- and labor-intensive shears gained urgency when a worker he had hired was hospitalized after being bitten by a copperhead.”
The Wall Street Journal: Dance Studio Owner Invented Weed Eater
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘copperhead’.
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You animal!
Names of animals that are also used to describe kinds of people. Nouns only, preferably single word.
For a related list, see sionnach's beastly verbs.rabbit, shark, hog, pussycat, bear, bull, skunk, hawk, wildcat, buck, slug, heifer and 112 more...
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Hence
Words with definitions that have a "hence" in them.
hanger, Deet, tripe, spindlelegs, fiddle, store, pluck, snap, villain, link, comedy, particular and 410 more...
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Snakes
python, adder, snake, asp, cobra, bull snake, copperhead, sea snake, viper, boa, cottonmouth, rattlesnake and 15 more...
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Animals (besides pottos)
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robin, wagtail, frog, bunny, pronk, rabbit, fur, badger, mouse, bee, crepuscular, purr and 140 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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Wrongheads
Insults that make me laugh. Some of these are re-contextualized because they sound like insults to me.
wretched, dasdardly, sniveling, dingbat, rankle, vapid, ninny, nincompoop, dolt, imbecile, fucktard, scoundrel and 173 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (C)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
cacophony, cad, cajole, calamity, camomile, camphor, candlemas, candy apple, canopy, canticle, caparison, caravan and 304 more...
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Flora and Fauna
poa annua, pooka, vole, bestiary, popple, turgor, starling, sharpy, copse, coreopsis, clove, corvid and 348 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for copperhead.
Drogulus I feel like this would be the perfect word to describe a meanspirited brunette Sep 11, 2012