mountain blacksnake
- noun
- /ˈmaʊntən ˈblæksneɪk/
- US
:
serpiente negra de montaña
- The mountain blacksnake is often mistaken for a dangerous species, but it is completely harmless to humans.
Examples
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We spotted a mountain blacksnake slithering quietly across the hiking trail.
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The mountain blacksnake is often mistaken for a rattlesnake.
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Farmers appreciate the mountain blacksnake because it helps control rodent populations.
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I saw a mountain blacksnake in the woods.
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The mountain blacksnake is a common sight in the forests of the Appalachian Mountains.
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A mountain blacksnake can often be found sunbathing on rocks in its natural habitat.
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While hiking in the Rockies, we encountered a mountain blacksnake resting under a bush.
Synonyms
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
A large harmless black snake in North America that eats rats
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
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun composition is fully compositional: 'mountain' specifies the habitat and 'blacksnake' denotes a black snake species, so the combined phrase clearly means a black snake associated with mountains. This straightforward noun+noun modifier pattern is cross-linguistically common and easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Mountain blacksnake comes from a simple picture: a shiny black snake that lives in the high hills, so people joined mountain and blacksnake to name it. That's why the name refers to a large, often 'harmless' snake found in mountain areas.