colubrid snake

8.5

A mostly non-venomous snake that lives on land, in trees, or near water

noun
/ˈkɒl.jʊ.brɪd sneɪk/

Specialized

: serpiente colúbrido

The grass snake is a common colubrid snake found across Europe and parts of Asia.

Examples

Unlike vipers, most colubrid snakes do not possess potent venom.
She specialized in the study of colubrid snakes and their ecological adaptations.
Look! A colubrid snake!
The colubrid snake is often found in gardens.
The grass snake is a common colubrid snake found across Europe and parts of Asia.
She specialized in the study of colubrid snakes and their ecological adaptations.
Unlike vipers, most colubrid snakes do not possess potent venom.

Synonyms

colubrid

vscolubrid snake

Specialized

9.9

A type of snake that is usually not venomous and lives on land, in trees or in water

is the more explicit phrase adding the animal type to the family name

Surface Forms

colubrid snake singular

colubrid snakes plural

Morphology

colubrid + snake

The phrase is a straightforward modifier + noun composition: 'colubrid' identifies membership in the Colubridae family and 'snake' names the animal, so together they mean 'a snake belonging to the Colubridae family.' This follows normal adjectival modification patterns found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can derive the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Colubrid snake comes from the Latin root 'coluber' meaning 'snake' and the English word snake, so the name was used for many common, mostly harmless snakes. Today colubrid snake means a member of that large family of mostly 'non-venomous' snakes, which helps you remember they are usually not dangerous.