horned viper 名詞



 Plume, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumed p. pr. & vb. n. Pluming.]
 1. To pick and adjust the plumes or feathers of; to dress or prink.
    Pluming her wings among the breezy bowers.   --W. Irving.
 2. To strip of feathers; to pluck; to strip; to pillage; also, to peel. [Obs.]
 3. To adorn with feathers or plumes. “Farewell the plumed troop.”
 4. To pride; to vaunt; to boast; -- used reflexively; as, he plumes himself on his skill.
 Plumed adder Zool., an African viper (Vipera cornuta, syn. Clotho cornuta), having a plumelike structure over each eye.  It is venomous, and is related to the African puff adder.  Called also horned viper and hornsman.
 Plumed partridge Zool., the California mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus). See Mountain quail, under Mountain.

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 vi·per n.
 1. Zool. Any one of numerous species of Old World venomous snakes belonging to Vipera, Clotho, Daboia, and other genera of the family Viperidae.
    There came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.   --Acts xxviii. 3.
 Note: ☞ Among the best-known species are the European adder (Pelias berus), the European asp (Vipera aspis), the African horned viper (Vipera cerastes), and the Indian viper (Daboia Russellii).
 2. A dangerous, treacherous, or malignant person.
 Who committed
 To such a viper his most sacred trust
 Of secrecy.   --Milton.
 Horned viper. Zool. See Cerastes.
 Red viper Zool., the copperhead.
 Viper fish Zool., a small, slender, phosphorescent deep-sea fish (Chauliodus Sloanii).  It has long ventral and dorsal fins, a large mouth, and very long, sharp teeth.
 Viper's bugloss Bot., a rough-leaved biennial herb (Echium vulgare) having showy purplish blue flowers.  It is sometimes cultivated, but has become a pestilent weed in fields from New York to Virginia.  Also called blue weed.
 Viper's grass Bot., a perennial composite herb (Scorzonera Hispanica) with narrow, entire leaves, and solitary heads of yellow flowers.  The long, white, carrot-shaped roots are used for food in Spain and some other countries.  Called also viper grass.

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 Horned a. Furnished with a horn or horns; furnished with a hornlike process or appendage; as, horned cattle; having some part shaped like a horn.
 The horned moon with one bright star
 Within the nether tip.   --Coleridge.
 Horned bee Zool., a British wild bee (Osmia bicornis), having two little horns on the head.
 Horned dace Zool., an American cyprinoid fish (Semotilus corporialis) common in brooks and ponds; the common chub. See Illust. of Chub.
 Horned frog Zool., a very large Brazilian frog (Ceratophrys cornuta), having a pair of triangular horns arising from the eyelids.
 Horned grebe Zool., a species of grebe (Colymbus auritus), of Arctic Europe and America, having two dense tufts of feathers on the head.
 Horned horse Zool., the gnu.
 Horned lark Zool., the shore lark.
 Horned lizard Zool., the horned toad.
 Horned owl Zool., a large North American owl (Bubo Virginianus), having a pair of elongated tufts of feathers on the head. Several distinct varieties are known; as, the Arctic, Western, dusky, and striped horned owls, differing in color, and inhabiting different regions; -- called also great horned owl, horn owl, eagle owl, and cat owl. Sometimes also applied to the long-eared owl. See Eared owl, under Eared.
 Horned poppy. Bot. See Horn poppy, under Horn.
 Horned pout Zool., an American fresh-water siluroid fish; the bullpout.
 Horned rattler Zool., a species of rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes), inhabiting the dry, sandy plains, from California to Mexico. It has a pair of triangular horns between the eyes; -- called also sidewinder.
 Horned ray Zool., the sea devil.
 Horned screamer Zool., the kamichi.
 Horned snake Zool., the cerastes.
 Horned toad Zool., any lizard of the genus Phrynosoma, of which nine or ten species are known. These lizards have several hornlike spines on the head, and a broad, flat body, covered with spiny scales. They inhabit the dry, sandy plains from California to Mexico and Texas. Called also horned lizard.
 Horned viper. Zool. See Cerastes.

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 horned viper
      n : highly venomous viper of northern Africa and southwestern
          Asia having a horny spine above each eye [syn: cerastes,
           sand viper, horned asp, Cerastes cornutus]