serpe

Etymology

Inherited from Old French serpe, from Vulgar Latin *sarpa, from Latin sarpō. Compare Medieval Latin sarpa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛʁp/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʁp

Noun

serpe f (plural serpes)

1. billhook, pruning hook, sickle (agricultural implement often with a curved or hooked end to the blade used for pruning or cutting thick, woody plants)

Further reading

• “serpe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• pères, Perse, peser

Etymology

Attested since circa 1300. From Old Galician-Portuguese, from Vulgar Latin serpes, from Latin serpēns. Cognate with Portuguese serpe, Spanish sierpe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾpe/ [ˈs̺ɛɾ.pɪ]
• Rhymes: -ɛɾpe
• Hyphenation: ser‧pe

Noun

serpe f (plural serpes)

1. serpent, snake

   Synonyms: bicha, cobra, cóbrega

   • 1295, R. Lorenzo, editor, La traducción gallega de la Crónica General y de la Crónica de Castilla, Ourense: I.E.O.P.F., page 111:

     O cõde Fernã Gonçaluez andaua ontre [os] mouros, ferĩdo et matando assy com̃o [se] fosse serpe rauyosa

     Count Fernán González was among the Moors, wounding and killing them as if he was a rabid serpent

2. (folklore) dragon

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “serpe”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “serpe”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “xerpe”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “serpe”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “serpe”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Further reading

• “serpe”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• “serpe” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).