serpentine

Borrowed from Old French serpentin, from Latin serpentīnus, from serpēns (“serpent”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsəːpəntaɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɚːpəntaɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)pəntaɪn

serpentine (comparative more serpentine, superlative most serpentine)

1. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of snakes.
2. Of, or having attributes associated with, the serpent referred to in the book of Genesis in the Bible, such as craftiness or deceitfulness.

   The wily criminal was known for his serpentine behavior.

3. Having the form or shape of a snake.

   Synonym: ophidian

   There are serpentine species of lizards which do not have legs.

4. Curving in alternate directions; sinuous.

   Synonyms: sinuous, tortuous, winding

   The serpentine path through the mountains was narrow and dangerous.

   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Andrea del Sarto. (Called ‘the Faultless Painter.’)”, in Men and Women [...] In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], OCLC 1561924, page 2:

     So! keep looking so— / My serpentining beauty, rounds on rounds!

serpentine (plural serpentines)

1. Any of several plants believed to cure snakebites.
2. (historical) An early form of cannon, used in the 16th century.
3. A kind of firework.
4. A coiled distillation tube.
5. (mathematics) Any of several related cubic curves; anguinea

serpentine (third-person singular simple present serpentines, present participle serpentining, simple past and past participle serpentined)

1. (archaic) To serpentize; to turn or bend; to meander.
   • Lord Lyttelton

     There were two little lakes, or rather large pools which stood in the bottom, whence issued a rivulet which serpentined in view for two or three miles, offering a pleasing relief to the eye.

Serpentine (mineral)

Borrowed from Old French serpentine, from resemblance to a serpent's skin.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːpəntaɪn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝːpəntin/, /ˈsɝːpəntaɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)pəntaɪn

serpentine (countable and uncountable, plural serpentines)

1. (mineralogy) Any of several green/brown minerals consisting of a magnesium and iron silicates that have similar layered crystal structure.
2. (geology) An outcrop or region with soil and rock dominated by these minerals.

• (mineral): antigorite, chrysotile, lizardite

• “Serpentine” in David Barthelmy, Webmineral Mineralogy Database, 1997–.
• “serpentine”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed 29 August 2016.

• terpinenes

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serpentine

1. feminine singular of serpentin

serpentine

1. feminine plural of serpentino

serpentine f pl

1. plural of serpentina

serpentīne

1. vocative masculine singular of serpentīnus