[vahy-per] 
| 1. | any of several venomous Old World snakes of the genus Vipera, esp. 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 yds. (250 m). |
| 8. | to nourish a viper in one's bosom, to befriend a person who proves to be treacherous. |
| vi·per (vī'pər) n.
[Middle English vipere, from Old French, from Latin vīpera, snake, contraction of *vīvipera : vīvus, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots + parere, to give birth; see perə-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
Viper
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.)