viper

viper
\ \ [16] A viper is etymologically a creature that ‘gives birth to live young’. The word comes via Old French vipere from Latin vīperasnake’.
\ \ This was a contraction of an earlier *vīvipera, a compound noun formed from vīvusalive’ (source of English vivacious, vivid, etc) and pareregive birth’ (source of English parent, parturition, etc) – in former times it was thought that snakes gave birth to live young. Latin vīpera is also the ancestor of English wyverndragonlike creature’ [17] and possibly of weever [17], the name of a type of fish with poisonous spines; and the elements from which it was formed also of course underlie the English adjective viviparous.
\ \ Cf.PARENT, VIVID, VIVIPAROUS

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Viper — and similar may refer to:Animals*Viper, any member of the family Viperidae, a group of snakes found throughout Africa, Eurasia and the Americas. *Viper, Agkistrodon piscivorus , a.k.a. the cottonmouth, a venomous snake found in North America.… …   Wikipedia

  • viper — vi per (v[imac] p[ e]r), n. [F. vip[ e]re, L. vipera, probably contr. fr. vivipera; vivus alive + parere to bring forth, because it was believed to be the only serpent that brings forth living young. Cf. {Quick}, a., {Parent}, {Viviparous},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Viper — puede referirse a: Viper (banda musical), una banda brasileña de música heavy. Dodge Viper, un modelo de automóvil. Viper (cohete), un cohete sonda estadounidense. AH 1Z Viper, un helicóptero de ataque. F 16 Fighting Falcon, avión de combate… …   Wikipedia Español

  • viper — (n.) 1520s, from M.Fr. vipere, from L. vipera viper, snake, serpent, from vivus alive, living (see VITAL (Cf. vital)) + parere bring forth, bear (see PARE (Cf. pare)). It formerly was believed (mistakenly) that the viper does not lay eggs.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • VIPeR — is a military robot developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems and intended for use in warfare. It was unveiled in March, 2007.FeaturesFor mobility, the VIPeR uses a pair of combined wheel/track systems (called the Galileo Wheel system, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Viper — Sf (eine Giftschlange) erw. fach. (13. Jh.), mhd. viper, vipere Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus [p]l. vīpera, das wohl mit Silbenschichtung auf l. * vīvi pera lebendgebärend zurückgeht.    Ebenso ne. viper, nfrz. vipère. lateinisch l …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Viper M1 — is an h game in the Hyper Viper Animation series for the PC released in 1998. It consists of three separate entries. Games My Mothers In My Mothers, the player assumes the role of Mika, a young Japanese student who fights the forces of evil with… …   Wikipedia

  • Viper — es una banda de heavy metal proveniente de Brasil. Se formó en 1985 aunque no fue hasta 1987 cuando publican su primer álbum titulado Soldiers of Sunrise. Todavía sigue activa. Su ex vocalista André Matos es un claro ejemplo de precocidad, ya que …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Viper — »Giftschlange, Otter«: Das Wort wurde bereits in mhd. Zeit (mhd. viper‹e›, vipper) aus gleichbedeutend lat. vipera entlehnt. Dies geht wohl auf *vivipera (aus lat. vivus »lebendig« und pera zu parere »gebären«) zurück und bedeutet demnach… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • viper — [vī′pər] n. [OFr < L vipera, contr. < ? * vivipara, producing live young < vivus, living (see BIO ) + parere, to bear: see PAROUS: from the notion that the viper does not lay eggs] 1. any of a widespread family (Viperidae) of venomous… …   English World dictionary

  • Viper — (Vipĕra), 1) so viel als Schlange, bes. die kleineren Arten; 2) so v.w. Natter; 3) Gattung aus der Familie der Vipern, s.d. a); 4) vorzüglich Vipera berus, mit seinen Abarten; 5) Gelbe V., so v.w. Gelber Eckenkopf …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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