Adder

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ˈæd.Éš/
• Rhymes: -ædÉ™(r)

From Middle English addere, misdivision of naddere, from Old English nǣdre, nǣddre ("snake, serpent, viper, adder"), from Proto-Germanic *nēdrǭ, *nadrǭ ("snake, viper") (compare West Frisian njirre, Dutch adder, German Natter, Otter), from pre-Germanic *néh₁treh₂, variant of Proto-Indo-European *nh₁trih₂ (compare Welsh neidr, Latin natrīx ‘watersnake’), from *sneh₁- ("to spin, twist") (compare Dutch naaien). More at needle.

Full definition of adder

Noun

1. (obsolete) A snake.
2. A name loosely applied to various snakes more or less resembling the viper; a viper.
3. (chiefly British) A small venomous serpent of the genus Vipera. The is the . The puff adders of Africa are species of the genus .
4. (US, Canada) Any of several small nonvenomous snakes resembling the adder, such as the milk snake.
5. The sea-stickleback or adder-fish.

Derived terms

• adder-fish
• puff adder

{1} + -er.

Noun

1. Someone who or something which performs arithmetic addition; a machine for adding numbers.
2. Something which adds or increases.They sought out cost adders with an eye toward eliminating them.

Derived terms

• full adder
• half adder

Anagrams

• dared
• dread
• readd