adder

See also: Adder

English

WOTD – 11 January 2016
The head of the common European adder (Vipera berus)
The sea stickleback or adder-fish (Spinachia spinachia)

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈædɚ/
  • Rhymes: -ædə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English addere, rebracketing of "a naddere" as "an addere", from Old English nǣdre, nǣddre (“snake, serpent, viper, adder”), from Proto-Germanic *nadrǭ (“snake, viper”) (compare West Frisian njirre, Dutch adder, German Natter, Otter), from pre-Germanic *néh₁treh₂, variant of Proto-Indo-European *n̥h₁trih₂ (compare Welsh neidr, Latin natrīx ‘watersnake’), from *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, twist”) (compare Dutch naaien). More at needle.

Noun

adder (plural adders)

  1. (obsolete) Any snake.
  2. A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling the viper; a viper.
    1. (chiefly Britain) A small venomous serpent of the genus Vipera
      1. The common European adder (Vipera berus).
    2. The puff adders, of Africa (genus Bitis).
    3. (US, Canada) Any of several small nonvenomous snakes resembling adders
      1. Lampropeltis triangulum (milk snake).
      2. Heterodon spp. (hog-nosed snakes), a genus of harmless colubrid snakes found in North America
    4. Certain venomous snakes resembling other adders
      1. Acanthophis spp. (death adders), elapid snakes found in Southeast Asia and Australia
      2. Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, the northern copperhead, a venomous viper found in the eastern United States
    5. A sea stickleback or adder fish (Spinachia spinachia).
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From add +‎ -er.

Noun

adder (plural adders)

  1. Someone who or something which performs arithmetic addition; a machine for adding numbers.
  2. Something which adds or increases.
    They sought out cost adders with an eye toward eliminating them.
Derived terms
Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch adder, from Middle Dutch adder, adre, misdivison of nadder, nadre, from Old Dutch *nadra, from Proto-Germanic *nadrǭ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈadər/

Noun

adder (plural adders, diminutive addertjie)

  1. viper, adder

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch adder, adre, misdivison of nadder, nadre, from Old Dutch *nadra, from Proto-Germanic *nadrǭ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑ.dər/
  • audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: ad‧der
  • Rhymes: -ɑdər

Noun

adder m, f (plural adders or adderen, diminutive addertje n)

  1. viper, adder
  2. common viper, Vipera berus

Derived terms

Descendants

Anagrams

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

adder

  1. imperative of addere

Old Prussian

Conjunction

adder

  1. or
    wāiklis adder mērgā - boy or girl
  2. but
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