ringhals

[ ring-hals ]

noun

1. a highly venomous snake, Hemachatus haemachatus, of southern Africa, related to the cobras, having one to three light-colored bands across its throat and characterized by its ability to accurately spit its venom up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) away.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ringhals¹

From Afrikaans, equivalent to ring “band, ring” + hals “neck”; ring ¹

Example Sentences

Then the ringhals crawled out—the ugly five feet length o’ livin’ death—and there and then gorged the rat.

From Project Gutenberg

It did not occur to him that a man who had shot lions in the open was not likely to be afraid of an everyday ringhals—not at the time, at least.

From Project Gutenberg

The "ringhals" in the veldt are very deadly.

From Project Gutenberg

They leapt to do his bidding, and presently discovered the ringhals in its hole.

From Project Gutenberg

To it, or rather to her hand, was hanging a great hooded snake of the cobra variety such as the Boers call ringhals.

From Project Gutenberg