fer-de-lance

noun

Bothrops lanceolatus or other lancehead snakes of genus Bothrops.

Similar
Bothrops atrops
OriginFrench fer de lance →
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Meanings

nounfer-de-lance (plural fer-de-lances or fers-de-lance)

plural fer-de-lances · plural fers-de-lance

  1. Bothrops lanceolatus or other lancehead snakes of genus Bothrops.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounlarge extremely venomous pit viper of Central America and South America

Similar
Bothrops atrops
Broader
pit viper

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchfer de lance“spearhead”
  2. Englishfer-de-lance

Borrowed from French fer de lance (“spearhead”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fer-de-lance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fer-de-lance

MLA

“fer-de-lance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fer-de-lance. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fer-de-lance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fer-de-lance.

Source: fer-de-lance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.