vi·per

[vahy-per]
noun
1.
any of several venomous Old World snakes of the genus Vipera, especially V. berus, a small snake common in northern Eurasia.
2.
any related snakes belonging to the family Viperidae, characterized by erectile, venom-conducting fangs.
3.
pit viper.
4.
any of various venomous or supposedly venomous snakes.
5.
a malignant or spiteful person.
6.
a false or treacherous person.
7.
( initial capital letter ) Military. a 9-pound (4 kg), shoulder-launched, unguided U.S. Army antitank rocket with an effective range of 273 yards (250 meters).
Idioms
8.
to nourish a viper in one's bosom, to befriend a person who proves to be treacherous.
00:10
Viper is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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Origin:
1520–30; < Latin vīpera, haplological variant of *vīvipera, noun use of feminine of *vīviper, later (as re-formation) vīviparus viviparous

Related forms
vi·per·ish, adjective
vi·per·ish·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
viper (ˈvaɪpə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  any venomous Old World snake of the family Viperidae, esp any of the genus Vipera (the adder and related forms), having hollow fangs in the upper jaw that are used to inject venom
2.  any of various other snakes, such as the horned viper
3.  See pit viper
4.  a malicious or treacherous person
 
[C16: from Latin vīpera, perhaps from vīvus living + parere to bear, referring to a tradition that the viper was viviparous]
 
'viper-like
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

viper
c.1520, from M.Fr. vipere, from L. vipera "viper, snake, serpent," from vivus "alive, living" (see vital) + parere "bring forth, bear" (see pare). It formerly was believed (mistakenly) that the viper does not lay eggs. Applied to persons of spiteful
character since at least 1591. The only venomous snake found in Great Britain. Replaced native adder. "The flesh of the viper was formerly regarded as possessing great nutritive or restorative properties, and was frequently used medicinally" [OED]; hence viper wine, wine medicated with some kind of extract from vipers, used 17c. by "gray-bearded gallants" in a bid "to feele new lust, and youthfull flames agin."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary

Viper definition


In Job 20:16, Isa. 30:6; 59:5, the Heb. word eph'eh is thus rendered. The Hebrew word, however, probably denotes a species of poisonous serpents known by the Arabic name of 'el ephah. Tristram has identified it with the sand viper, a species of small size common in sandy regions, and frequently found under stones by the shores of the Dead Sea. It is rapid in its movements, and highly poisonous. In the New Testament _echidne_ is used (Matt. 3:7; 12:34; 23:33) for any poisonous snake. The viper mentioned in Acts 28:3 was probably the vipera aspis, or the Mediterranean viper. (See ADDER.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
The president returns-to a viper's nest partly of his own making commented.
She narrowly escaped being bitten by a viper coiled in her sewing drawer.
Image for viper
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