colubrine

adjective

col·​u·​brine ˈkäl-yə-ˌbrīn How to pronounce colubrine (audio)
ˈkä-lə-
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a snake
2
: of or relating to colubrids : colubrid

Did you know?

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of colubrine was circa 1528

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near colubrine

Cite this Entry

“Colubrine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colubrine. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

colubrine

adjective
col·​u·​brine ˈkäl-(y)ə-ˌbrīn How to pronounce colubrine (audio)
: of or relating to snakes of the family Colubridae : colubrid
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!