mamba

[ mahm-bah ]

noun

1. any of several long, slender, arboreal snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, of central and southern Africa, the bite of which is often fatal.

mamba

/ ˈmæmbə /

noun

1. any aggressive partly arboreal tropical African venomous elapid snake of the genus Dendroaspis, esp D. angusticeps ( green and black mambas )

Word History and Origins

Origin of mamba¹

1860–65; < Nguni; compare Zulu imamba, izimamba

Word History and Origins

Origin of mamba¹

from Zulu im-amba

Example Sentences

The black mamba snake slithering towards Lakshmi is highly venomous.

From The Daily Beast

On his loins was a lion of great fierceness, and coiled round his waist was a hissing mamba (snake).

From Project Gutenberg

A snake of the mamba species, which grows to a considerable size, very scarce, and with a proportionately bad reputation.

From Project Gutenberg

Hardly one hundred years ago, on the site of the modern esplanade, there stood a temple consecrated to Mamba-Devi.

From Project Gutenberg

Coiled but a few scant feet away was a long black mamba, the most poisonous snake of Africa.

From Project Gutenberg

On hearing it Mamba leaped from the couch on which he had been laid as if nothing were the matter with him.

From Project Gutenberg