Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

viper

 
Dictionary: vi·per   ('pər) pronunciation
n.
  1. Any of several venomous Old World snakes of the family Viperidae, having a single pair of long, hollow fangs and a thick, heavy body. Also called adder.
  2. A pit viper.
  3. A venomous or supposedly venomous snake.
  4. A person regarded as malicious or treacherous.

[Middle English vipere, from Old French, from Latin vīpera, snake, contraction of *vīvipera : vīvus, alive + parere, to give birth.]


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Any of about 200 species (family Viperidae) of venomous snakes in two subfamilies: Viperinae (Old World vipers of Europe, Asia, and Africa) and Crotalinae (pit vipers). Two long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs attached to the movable bones of the viper's upper jaw can be folded back in the mouth when not in use. Vipers range in length from less than 12 in. (30 cm) to more than 10 ft (3 m). They eat small animals and hunt by striking, then trailing, their prey. Many Old World vipers are terrestrial; a few are arboreal or burrowers. Most bear live young.

For more information on viper, visit Britannica.com.

An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) whose underlying asset is one of the many Index Funds of the Vanguard Group. Acronym is Vanguard Index Participation Receipts. VIPERs are traded on the American Stock Exchange.

 
viper, any of a large number of heavy-bodied, poisonous snakes of the family Viperidae, characterized by erectile, hypodermic fangs. The fangs are folded back against the roof of the mouth except when the snake strikes. Vipers are distributed throughout Eurasia and Africa. They range in size from under 1 ft (30 cm) to nearly 6 ft (2 m) and often have zigzag or diamond patterns. Best known is the common European viper, or adder (Vipera berus), distributed throughout Europe and N Asia. It feeds on small mammals and lizards and hibernates in winter. Its venom is rarely fatal to humans. The asp viper, or asp (V. aspis), is a smaller species inhabiting S Europe. The greatest variety of vipers is found in Africa. The brightly patterned Gaboon viper, Bitis gabonica, is the longest of the vipers and has a body diameter of up to 6 in. (15 cm). The puff adder, B. arietans, found over most of Africa and in Arabia, is a highly venomous species whose bite is often fatal. The pit vipers of the Americas, including the rattlesnake, copperhead, water moccasin, fer-de-lance, and bushmaster, are classified in a separate family. Vipers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Viperidae.


Any venomous snake, especially any member of the families Viperidae (true vipers) and Crotalidae (pit vipers).

Word Tutor: viper
Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A kind of poisonous snake.

pronunciation If a viper lives in your room and you wish to have a peaceful sleep, you must first chase it out. — Buddha (563-483 BC).

Translations: Viper
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - slange, hugorm

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    en slange ved sin barm

Nederlands (Dutch)
gifslang, adder, venijnig persoon

Français (French)
n. - (Zool, fig) vipère

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    (fig) réchauffer un serpent dans son sein (littér)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Schlange, Viper

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    eine Schlange am Busen (nähren)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ., μτφ.) έχιδνα, οχιά

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    φίδι στον κόρφο μου

Italiano (Italian)
vipera

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    vipera in seno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - víbora (f), pessoa (f) traiçoeira, viciado em maconha (m) (gír.)

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    amigo íntimo traidor

Русский (Russian)
гадюка, злобный человек, курильщик марихуаны

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    пригреть на груди змею

Español (Spanish)
n. - víbora

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    traicionero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - huggorm

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
毒蛇, 阴险人, 毒蛇一样的家伙

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    心怀鬼胎

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 毒蛇, 陰險人, 毒蛇一樣的傢伙

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    心懷鬼胎

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 북살모사, 독사 같은 사람, 음흉한 인간

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - クサリヘビ, 毒ヘビ, たちの悪い人間, 麻薬の売人

idioms:

  • viper in one's bosom    いつか自分を裏切る人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) افعى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צפע (נחש ארסי)‬


 
 
Learn More
RVVT
viperish
water viper

What eats a viper? Read answer...
How do you find viper? Read answer...
Can you have a viper as a pet? Read answer...

Help us answer these
Is the viper deadlyWhy?
Do vipers have rattlers?
Notes about vipers?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Financial & Investment Dictionary. Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms. Copyright © 2006 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more