colubrine

[ kol-uh-brahyn, -brin, -yuh- ]

adjective

1. of or resembling a snake; snakelike.
2. belonging or pertaining to the subfamily Colubrinae, comprising the typical colubrid snakes.

colubrine

/ -brɪn; ˈkɒljʊˌbraɪn /

adjective

1. of or resembling a snake
2. of, relating to, or belonging to the Colubrinae, a subfamily of harmless colubrid snakes

Word History and Origins

Origin of colubrine¹

1520–30; < Latin colubrīnus, equivalent to colubr- (stem of coluber ) snake + -īnus -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of colubrine¹

C16: from Latin colubrīnus, from coluber snake

Example Sentences

This greed of Uncle Eneas was colubrine.

From Project Gutenberg

Spilotes, spī-lō′tēz, n. a genus of colubrine serpents.

From Project Gutenberg

Natrix, nā′triks, n. a genus of colubrine snakes.

From Project Gutenberg

Colubrine domesticity had its allures.

From New York Times

Catalogue of colubrine snakes in the collection of the British Museum.

From Project Gutenberg