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serpentine

 - 4 dictionary results

ser⋅pen⋅tine

1  [sur-puhn-teen, -tahyn] adjective, noun, verb, -tined, -tin⋅ing.
Use serpentine in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, characteristic of, or resembling a serpent, as in form or movement.
2. having a winding course, as a road; sinuous.
3. shrewd, wily, or cunning.
–noun
4. a device on a harquebus lock for holding the match.
5. a cannon having any of various bore sizes, used from the 15th to the 17th century.
6. Skating. a school figure made by skating two figure eights that share one loop.
–verb (used without object)
7. to make or follow a winding course: The stream serpentines through the valley.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (adj.) < L serpentīnus snakelike, equiv. to serpent- serpent + -īnus ine1

Synonyms:
2. twisting, snaking, tortuous.

ser⋅pen⋅tine

2  [sur-puhn-teen, -tahyn]
–noun
a common mineral, hydrous magnesium silicate, H2Mg3Si2O2, usually oily green and sometimes spotted, occurring in many varieties: used for architectural and decorative purposes.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME serpentyn < ML serpentīnum, n. use. of neut. of serpentīnus serpentine 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To serpentine
ser·pen·tine   (sûr'pən-tēn', -tīn')   
adj.  

  1. Of or resembling a serpent, as in form or movement; sinuous.

  2. Subtly sly and tempting.

n.   (-tēn')
Any of a group of greenish, brownish, or spotted minerals, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4, used as a source of magnesium and asbestos, and in architecture as a decorative stone.

[Middle English, from Old French serpentin, from Late Latin serpentīnus, from Latin serpēns, serpent-, serpent; see serpent.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

serpentine  (n.)
c.1408, "plant reputed to contain antivenom," from O.Fr. serpentin (fem. serpentine), from L.L. serpentius "of a serpent," from L. serpentem (nom. serpens) "snake" (see serpent). As the name of a greenish mineral, attested from 1426. The adj. meaning "twisting, winding" first recorded 1615 (an earlier adj. meaning "having the evil qualities of a serpent" is recorded from 1387). The winding lake of that name in Hyde Park, London, was constructed in 1730.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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