From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishserpentser‧pent /ˈsɜːpənt $ ˈsɜːr-/ noun [countable] literary HBAa snake, especially a large one
Examples from the Corpus
serpent• The effect was beautiful, as even a serpent is beautiful once the fear of it is overcome.• The entwined serpents forming a double helix gave birth to the Caduceus.• The ram-headed serpent was one of the most impressive and typical of the Celtic cult animals.• Some people interpret this to mean that the neocortex makes us human and we must suppress the limbic serpent in ourselves.• You will find two little serpents of gold fastened to the cloak.• His tongue is a deadly poisonous serpent.• I felt that serpents and other slimy creatures 53 were creeping around me.Origin serpent (1200-1300) Old French Latin, present participle of serpere “to creep” 