5. (Mus.) A bass wind instrument, of a loud and coarse tone, formerly
much used in military bands, and sometimes introduced into the
orchestra; -- so called from its form.
Pharaoh's serpent (Chem.), mercuric sulphocyanate, a combustible white
substance which in burning gives off a poisonous vapor and leaves a
peculiar brown voluminous residue which is expelled in a serpentine
from. It is employed as a scientific toy. -- Serpent cucumber (Bot.),
the long, slender, serpentine fruit of the cucurbitaceous plant
Trichosanthes colubrina; also, the plant itself. -- Serpent eage
(Zoöl.), any one of several species of raptorial birds of the genera
Circaëtus and Spilornis, which prey on serpents. They inhabit Africa,
Southern Europe, and India. The European serpent eagle is Circaëtus
Gallicus. -- Serpent eater. (Zoöl.) (a) The secretary bird. (b) An
Asiatic antelope; the markhoor. -- Serpent fish (Zoöl.), a fish (Cepola
rubescens) with a long, thin, compressed body, and a band of red
running lengthwise. -- Serpent star (Zoöl.), an ophiuran; a brittle
star. -- Serpent's tongue (Paleon.), the fossil tooth of a shark; -- so
called from its resemblance to a tongue with its root. -- Serpent withe
(Bot.), a West Indian climbing plant (Aristolochia odoratissima). --
Tree serpent (Zoöl.), any species of African serpents belonging to the
family Dendrophidæ.
Ser"pent, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Serpented; p. pr. & vb. n. Serpenting.]
To wind like a serpent; to crook about; to meander. [R.] "The
serpenting of the Thames." Evelyn.
Ser"pent, v. t. To wind; to encircle. [R.] Evelyn.
||Ser`pen*ta"ri*a (?), a.[L. (sc. herba), fr. serpens serpent.] (Med.)
||The fibrous aromatic root of the Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia
||Serpentaria).
||Ser`pen*ta"ri*us (?), n.[NL., fr. L. serpens serpent.] (Astron.) A
||constellation on the equator, lying between Scorpio and Hercules; --
||called also Ophiuchus.
Ser*pen"ti*form (?), a. [L. serpens a serpent + -form.] Having the form
of a serpent.
Ser`pen*tig"e*nous (?), a. [L. serpens, -entis, a serpent + -genous:
cf. L. serpentigena.] Bred of a serpent.
Ser"pen*tine (?), a. [L. serpentinus: cf. F. serpentin.] Resembling a
serpent; having the shape or qualities of a serpent; subtle; winding or
turning one way and the other, like a moving serpent; anfractuous;
meandering; sinuous; zigzag; as, serpentine braid.
Thy shape Like his, and color serpentine.
Milton.
Ser"pen*tine, n. [Cf. (for sense 1) F. serpentine, (for sense 2)
serpentin.] 1. (Min.) A mineral or rock consisting chiefly of the
hydrous silicate of magnesia. It is usually of an obscure green color,
often with a spotted or mottled appearance resembling a serpent's skin.
Precious, or noble, serpentine is translucent and of a rich oil-green
color.
Serpentine has been largely produced by the alteration of other
minerals, especially of chrysolite.