garter snake
4
3.8
- noun
- /ˈɡɑːrtər sneɪk/
- US
:
serpiente de liga
- The children were excited to see a garter snake curled up on a rock near the pond.
- garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis
And you know, in New York we had, you know, black rat snakes, Garter snakes, whatever.
- And you know, in New York we had, you know, black rat snakes, Garter snakes, whatever.
Examples
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Shiny black garter snakes wove through the water, their heads erect and forward.
Academic text (1993) -
During our nature walk, we observed a garter snake basking in the sun.
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You sometimes see garter snakes around here.
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Maybe they will turn out to be cute little garter snakes.
Blog text (15) -
Isn't that a garter snake?
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Most of the research animals were garter snakes, which thrive on a diet of worms and small fish.
Academic text (1993) -
Every year in the spring, thousands of garter snakes participate in a mass mating ritual.
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I freeze and see a garter snake darting along at lightning speed.
Academic text (2000) -
An elegant, non-poisonous, eastern garter snake has been hanging around my container garden.
Blog text (2) -
Mrs. Thayer leaned over to check on Wendell Prince's garter snake, Buster, which he had found in a canebrake at Christian Creek.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
1
3.5
A harmless North American snake that has stripes and often lives in gardens
A harmless snake like a garter snake found in North and Central America
A common garter snake with stripes that lives near ponds and streams
A thin North American snake with a yellow stripe often near water
A thin North American snake with yellow stripes on its sides that lives near water
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
garter + snake
The noun 'snake' is literal and 'garter' functions as an attributive modifier: if a learner knows 'garter' (a band) they can plausibly infer this names a kind of snake with garter-like (banded/striped) markings. However, the specific taxonomic sense, geographic range, and the historical naming are not derivable, and many learners may not know 'garter' itself, so the relation is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Garter snake may come from the old cloth item garter, which people used to 'hold up stockings', because the snake's long, thin stripes look like that band. That's why the name fits these harmless, striped snakes today.