Adjacent Words

Rattlesnake definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RAT'TLESNAKE, n. A snake that has rattles at the tail, of the genus Crotalus. The rattles consist of articulated horny cells, which the animal vibrates in such a manner as to make a rattling sound. The poison of the rattlesnake is deadly.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken [syn: rattlesnake, rattler]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1630 any of several American pit vipers (genera Crotalus and Sistrurus) that have horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp rattling sound when shaken

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. any of various poisonous American snakes of the family Viperidae, esp. of the genus Crotalus or Sistrurus, with a rattling structure of horny rings in its tail.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rattlesnake Rat"tle*snake`, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus. They have a series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp ratting sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the Northern United States (Crotalus horridus), and the diamond rattlesnake of the south (C. adamanteus), are the best known. See Illust. of Fang.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rattlesnakes) A rattlesnake is a poisonous American snake which can make a rattling noise with its tail. N-COUNT