What is "snake"

Snake \Snake\, n. [AS. snaca; akin to LG. snake, schnake, Icel. sn[=a]kr, sn?kr, Dan. snog, Sw. snok; of uncertain origin.] (Zo["o]l.) Any species of the order Ophidia; an ophidian; a serpent, whether harmless or venomous. See Ophidia, and Serpent. Note: Snakes are abundant in all warm countries, and much the larger number are harmless to man. Blind snake, Garter snake, Green snake, King snake, Milk snake, Rock snake, Water snake, etc. See under Blind, Garter, etc. Fetich snake (Zo["o]l.), a large African snake ( Python Seb[ae]) used by the natives as a fetich. Ringed snake (Zo["o]l.), a common European columbrine snake ( Tropidonotus natrix). Snake eater. (Zo["o]l.)

1. The markhoor.

2. The secretary bird. Snake fence, a worm fence (which see). [U.S.] Snake fly (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus Rhaphidia; -- so called because of their large head and elongated neck and prothorax. Snake gourd (Bot.), a cucurbitaceous plant ( Trichosanthes anguina) having the fruit shorter and less snakelike than that of the serpent cucumber. Snake killer. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The secretary bird.

   2. The chaparral cock.

      Snake moss (Bot.), the common club moss ( Lycopodium clavatum). See Lycopodium.

      Snake nut (Bot.), the fruit of a sapindaceous tree ( Ophiocaryon paradoxum) of Guiana, the embryo of which resembles a snake coiled up.

      Tree snake (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of colubrine snakes which habitually live in trees, especially those of the genus Dendrophis and allied genera.

Snake \Snake\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Snaked; p. pr. & vb. n. Snaking.]

1. To drag or draw, as a snake from a hole; -- often with out. [Colloq. U.S.]
   --Bartlett.

2. (Naut.) To wind round spirally, as a large rope with a smaller, or with cord, the small rope lying in the spaces between the strands of the large one; to worm.

Snake \Snake\, v. i. To crawl like a snake.

Old English snaca, from Proto-Germanic *snakon (cognates: Old Norse snakr "snake," Swedish snok, German Schnake "ring snake"), from PIE root *sneg- "to crawl, creeping thing" (cognates: Old Irish snaighim "to creep," Lithuanian snake "snail," Old High German snahhan "to creep"). In Modern English, gradually replacing serpent in popular use.\n

\nTraditionally applied to the British serpent, as distinguished from the poisonous adder. Meaning "treacherous person" first recorded 1580s (compare Old Church Slavonic gadu "reptile," gadinu "foul, hateful"). Applied from 17c. to various snake-like devices and appliances. Snakes! as an exclamation is from 1839.\n

\nSnake eyes in crap-shooting sense is from 1919. Snake-bitten "unlucky" is sports slang from 1957, from a literal sense, perhaps suggesting one doomed by being poisoned. The game of Snakes and Ladders is attested from 1907. Snake charmer is from 1813. Snake pit is from 1883, as a supposed primitive test of truth or courage; figurative sense is from 1941. Phrase snake in the grass is from Virgil's Latet anguis in herba [Ecl. III:93].\n

1650s, "to twist or wind (hair) into the form of a snake," from snake (n.). The intransitive sense of "to move like a snake" is attested from 1848; that of "to wind or twist like a snake" (of roads, etc.) is from 1875. Related: Snaked; snaking.

n. 1 A legless reptile of the sub-order ''Serpentes'' with a long, thin body and a fork-shaped tongue. 2 A treacherous person. 3 A tool for unclogging plumbing. 4 A tool to aid cable pulling. 5 (context slang English) A trouser snake; the penis. vb. (context intransitive English) To follow or move in a winding route.

1. n. limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous [syn: serpent, ophidian]

2. a deceitful or treacherous person [syn: snake in the grass]

3. a tributary of the Columbia River that rises in Wyoming and flows westward; discovered in 1805 by the Lewis and Clark Expedition [syn: Snake River]

4. a long faint constellation in the southern hemisphere near the equator stretching between Virgo and Cancer [syn: Hydra]

5. something resembling a snake

1. v. move smoothly and sinuously, like a snake

2. form a snake-like pattern; "The river snakes through the valley"

3. move along a winding path; "The army snaked through the jungle"

Snake is the common name for a videogame concept where the player maneuvers a line which grows in length, with the line itself being a primary obstacle. The concept originated in the 1976 arcade game Blockade, and its simplicity has led to many implementations (some of which have the word snake or worm in the title). After a variant was preloaded on Nokia mobile phones in 1998, there was a resurgence of interest in the snake concept as it found a larger audience.

A snake is an elongate, legless, predatory reptile.

Snake may also refer to:

Snake is an Uruguayan rock band formed in 1995 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The original founders were lalo keoroglian, Alejandro moundjian and Mikael Boudakian. The current members actually are Marcelo Fontanini (lead vocals, Mikael Boudakian ( bass guitar), Claudio ( guitar) Mape bossio (drummer).

Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca.

Living snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and on most smaller land masses; exceptions include some large islands, such as Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, the Hawaiian archipelago, and the islands of New Zealand, and many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific oceans. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. More than 20 families are currently recognized, comprising about 500 genera and about 3,400 species. They range in size from the tiny, 10.4 cm-long thread snake to the reticulated python of in length. The fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago.

The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma ago). The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus.

Most species are nonvenomous and those that have venom use it primarily to kill and subdue prey rather than for self-defense. Some possess venom potent enough to cause painful injury or death to humans. Nonvenomous snakes either swallow prey alive or kill by constriction.

The Snake (蛇) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and related to the Chinese calendar, as well as in related East Asian zodiacal or calendrical systems. The Year of the Snake is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 巳.

According to one mythical legend, there is a reason for the order of the 12 animals in the 12-year cycle. The story goes that a race was held to cross a great river, and the order of the animals in the cycle was based upon their order in finishing the race. In this story, the Snake compensated for not being the best swimmer by hitching a hidden ride on the Horse's hoof, and when the Horse was just about to cross the finish line, jumping out, scaring the Horse, and thus edging it out for sixth place.

The same 12 animals are also used to symbolize the cycle of hours in the day, each being associated with a two-hour time period. The "hour" of the Snake is 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., the time when the sun warms up the earth, and Snakes are said to slither out of their holes. The "month" of the Snake is May 5 to June 5.

The reason the animal signs are referred to as "zodiacal" is that one's personality is said to be influenced by the animal sign(s) ruling the time of birth, together with elemental aspects of the animal signs within the sexagenarian (60 year) cycle. Similarly, the year governed by a particular animal sign is supposed to be characterized by it, with the effects particularly strong for people who were born in a year governed by the same animal sign.

In Chinese symbology, Snakes are regarded as intelligent, but with a tendency to be somewhat unscrupulous.

"Snake" is a song by American recording artist R. Kelly, featuring Big Tigger, from his fifth studio album, Chocolate Factory. The remix features Cam'ron. It was released on December 15, 2002, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The R&B song with Latin music inspiration was written and produced by R. Kelly, and co-written by Darian Morgan, as a tribute to Stevie Wonder's musical experimentation. The song also inspired the dancehall reggae riddim called Baghdad.

"Snake" achieved moderate success, reaching number sixteen at the United States' Hot 100, and the tenth position on the United Kingdom. A special double-A-side edition with " Thoia Thoing" was also released. The maxi-single charted at number ten in the Netherlands, number thirty in France, number sixteen in Australia and at number eighteen in Switzerland. A remix with actor and musician Cam'ron was also released.