n. 1. Any of various venomous snakes of the family Viperidae, having a thick heavy body and a single pair of long hollow fangs, especially the Eurasian and African species of the subfamily Viperinae, which lack the sensory pits of the pit vipers. 2. Any of several harmless snakes sometimes believed to be venomous. 3. A person regarded as malicious or treacherous. [Middle English vipere, from Old French, from Latin vīpera, snake, contraction of *vīvipera : vīvus, alive; see gwei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + parere, to give birth; see perə-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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