Meanings
nounadderbolt (plural adderbolts)
plural adderbolts
- UKdialectalA dragonfly.First known use 15th c.
This philosopher has also found an insect fish, which transforms into an adder-bolt.
1742, John Martyn, Ephraim Chambers, transl., The Philosophical History and Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, volume II, page 3551 more example
Other Animals I observ'd to have yet a greater number, as the Dragon-Fly or Adderbolt […].
1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section XXXIX
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
From adder (“venomous snake”) + bolt (“arrow”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
adderbolt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adderbolt
MLA
“adderbolt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adderbolt. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adderbolt,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adderbolt.
Source: adderbolt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.