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  1. ophidian love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Of, relating to, or resembling snakes.
  2. n. A member of the suborder Ophidia or Serpentes; a snake.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Having the nature or characters of a snake or serpent; belonging or relating to ophidians; of or pertaining to the Ophidia. Also ophidious.
  2. n. A member of the Ophidia, as a snake or serpent.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any species of the suborder Serpentes; a snake or serpent.
  2. adj. Of or pertaining to the suborder Serpentes; of, related to, or characteristic of a snake or serpent.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Zoöl.) One of the Ophidia; a snake or serpent.
  2. adj. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Ophidia; belonging to serpents.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous

Etymologies

  1. From Latin Ophidia, from Ancient Greek ὄφις (ophis, "snake") +‎ -ian (Wiktionary)
  2. From New Latin Ophidia, suborder name, from Greek ophis, snake. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “I knew of the Snake Dances in farthest Estwilde, where the mongoose is brought in to the last movement of the dance, where with nothing but quickness and brains and sharp teeth it goes up against the deadly ophidian to the music of pipe and drums.”

    Fictionaut: Virginity

  • “- She perceives me to be of ophidian sentiment, I will bathe with her.”

    Fictionaut: THE BOOK OF SUCH ~ a suite of poems

  • “Snake-like-ness happens to have a number of different adjectives, including one of the rare non - ine forms: ophidian.”

    Breakfast in Bed

  • “A glance over his The Conquering Sword of Conan shoulder just as the door was closing showed Conan the long dim vista of the hall, and dimly framed at the other end an ophidian shape that writhed slowly and painfully into view, flowing in a dull-hued length from a chamber door, its hideous blood-stained head wagging drunkenly.”

    The Conquering Sword of Conan

  • “But if the sun grew more and more hot and dazzling as the day progressed, then the tremendous ophidian head would become increasingly real to my sight, with glistening scales and symmetrical markings; and I would walk carefully not to stumble against or touch it; and when I cast my eyes behind me I could see no end to its great coils extending across the savannah.”

    Green Mansions

  • “As she recited the prayer with a mien as dark as fate, the supplicant rolled her long neck from side to side, and nodded her ophidian-shaped head in accordance with a sort of regular, lethargic rhythm.”

    Through Russia

  • “She aimed at the ophidian head of the serpent and was on the point of striking, when she started with surprise and lowered her hand.”

    Warlock

  • “She crossed over to the steel sinks of the lab module, carefully holding the ophidian probe away from her.”

    Forever Free

  • “Clutching his bleeding hand, stare aC Ae evi. aead had disappeared, but the surface of the pool was still agitated by the lithe ophidian shapes.”

    The Seventh Scroll

  • “Slippery, cool, ophidian blood welled up over my fingers, but the blade bit down to the bone of the spine.”

    River God

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hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. diapsid
  1. diapsid reptile

hyponyms (9)

Words that are more specific

  1. constrictor
  1. elapid snake
  1. worm snake
  1. colubrid snake
  1. elapid
  1. sea snake
  1. colubrid
  1. viper
  1. blind snake

same context (20)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. big-brained
  2. plasma-energy
  3. gold-bound
  4. biometry
  1. hjadd
  2. many-jointed
  3. payola
  4. hydrophone
  1. class-one
  2. years-long
  3. point-like
  4. cloaked
  1. mind-shattering
  2. entomology
  3. lidar
  4. scrannel
  1. carrier-wave
  2. 10-point
  3. chaos-order
  4. machinelike

reverse dictionary (12)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. ofidian
  2. ophidious
  1. streptostylic
  2. cylinder-snake
  1. snake
  2. acrochordidæ
  1. boidæ
  2. colubrine
  1. pseudophidian
  2. serpent
  1. serpentiform
  2. tortricid

tags (3)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. snakey
  1. vccvcvvc
  1. ph

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Comments

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  • mollusque Annette would occasionally curb with an opaque, almost ophidian, look, her mother's volubility.
    --Vladimir Nabokov, 1974, Look at the Harlequins!‎ p. 112 Jun 13, 2009

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‘ophidian’ has been looked up 1704 times, loved by 11 people, added to 36 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 14.