chicken snake
- noun
- /ˈtʃɪkən sneɪk/
- US
:
serpiente de gallinas
- When threatened, a chicken snake may vibrate its tail to mimic a rattlesnake.
Examples
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The farmer found a chicken snake in the henhouse searching for eggs.
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I saw a chicken snake in the backyard.
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Chicken snakes are generally harmless to humans but can be a nuisance to poultry farmers.
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The chicken snake slithered quietly through the grass.
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The chicken snake slithered through the grass in search of bird nests.
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Farmers often see a chicken snake around their chicken coops, as it likes to eat their eggs.
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A chicken snake can often be identified by its smooth scales and grayish coloration.
Synonyms
1
6.0
A gentle reddish-orange snake from the southeastern United States often found on farms and kept as a pet
1
5.3
A snake that is not poisonous and eats rats and mice
1
7.4
A large not dangerous black snake found in North America, like a racer or rat snake
1
7.0
A large North American snake that is not venomous and lives in burrows eating rodents
A large harmless reddish snake from the southern United States that lives on farms and in woods
A large not venomous black snake that lives in eastern North America and is often called the black rat snake
A large shiny black snake from North America that is not venomous and eats rats and mice
A large snake that does not have venom and lives in pine woods in the eastern United States
A large harmless North American snake that eats mice and rats and often lives in burrows
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'chicken snake' is compositionally transparent: 'snake' modified by 'chicken' indicates a type of snake associated with chickens (e.g., one that preys on or is found near chickens). Noun+noun compounding is a common, regular pattern in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows 'chicken' and 'snake' can infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Chicken snake comes from the simple picture of a snake that would go into a henhouse to eat chickens and their eggs. That's why the name now refers to 'a large, non-venomous snake that hunts birds and eggs'.