colubrine

adjective

col·​u·​brine ˈkäl-yə-ˌbrīn 

ˈkä-lə-

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a snake

2

: of or relating to colubrids : colubrid

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Snakes and Colubrine

Colubrine may be less common than other animal words—such as canine, feline, and bovine—but it has been around for a good long while. Ultimately derived from the Latin colubra ("snake"), it slithered into the English language in the 16th century. (Cobra, by the way, comes from the same Latin word, but it entered English through Portuguese.) Some other words for "snakelike" are serpentine (a more common alternative) and ophidian (from the Greek word for snake: ophis).

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Definition

colubrine

adjective

col·​u·​brine ˈkäl-(y)ə-ˌbrīn 

: of or relating to snakes of the family Colubridae : colubrid