viperine grass snake

9.4

A small harmless snake in Europe that lives near water and looks like a viper

noun

: natrix maura

Unlike true vipers, the viperine grass snake poses no threat to humans.

Examples

The viperine grass snake is often mistaken for a viper.
The viperine grass snake is often seen swimming in rivers and streams across southern Europe.
The distinctive zigzag pattern helps the viperine grass snake mimic more dangerous species.
I spotted a viperine grass snake near the pond.
The viperine grass snake is often seen swimming in rivers and streams across southern Europe.
Unlike true vipers, the viperine grass snake poses no threat to humans.
The distinctive zigzag pattern helps the viperine grass snake mimic more dangerous species.

Synonyms

Natrix maura

vsviperine grass snake

Specialized

9.9

A small snake without venom that lives near water in Europe and North Africa

is the common descriptive name stressing water habitat and viperlike appearance

Surface Forms

viperine grass snake singular

viperine grass snakes plural

Morphology

viperine + grass + snake

The phrase is compositionally built from 'viperine' (viper-like) + 'grass' + 'snake', so a learner who knows these constituents can infer it denotes a grass snake that resembles a viper. The structure follows transparent adjectival modification patterns (viper-like + snake) and is cross-linguistically regular, making the overall meaning derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Viperine grass snake is named for how it looks: viperine means 'like a viper', and the snake's zigzag pattern makes it seem dangerous while grass snake shows it lives near water and grass. So the name helps you remember this is a small snake that looks like a viper but is actually 'harmless'.