# serpent

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɜːpənt/ · frequency rank #15,902

## Definitions
1. A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
2. A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
3. An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
4. A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.
5. A snake-like monster, such as a dragon or sea serpent.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *serp-
Proto-Indo-European *sérpeti
Proto-Italic *serpō
Proto-Italic *serpents
Latin serpēns
Old French serpentbor.
Middle English serpent
English serpent
From Middle English serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), present active participle of serpere (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Italic *serpō, from Proto-Indo-European *serp-. In this sense, displaced native Old English nǣdre (“snake, serpent”), whence Modern English adder.
Compare Sanskrit सर्प (sarpa, “snake”), which is a descendant of the same Proto-Indo-European word as serpent.

## Easily confused with
- **spent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serpent-vs-spent)
- **servant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serpent-vs-servant)
- **serena** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serena-vs-serpent)
- **serene** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serene-vs-serpent)
- **segment** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/segment-vs-serpent)
- **Sargent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sargent-vs-serpent)
- **sergeant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sergeant-vs-serpent)

## Common misspellings (11)
`esrpent`, `seprent`, `serepnt`, `serpennt`, `serpentt`, `serpetn`, `serpnet`, `serppent`, `serrpent`, `srepent`, `sserpent`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/serpent