Anguis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term that refers to a serpent or snake in Latin, often used historically or in scientific contexts to describe snake-like creatures
2. A name originating from Latin meaning a serpent, frequently applied in classical literature and taxonomy to designate various snake species
3. An ancient Latin designation for a snake or serpent, commonly utilized in biological classification and mythological references

Etymology: "Anguis" is a Latin noun meaning snake, and it is one of the few Latin words for a serpent that survives in English largely through science. Its root is ancient, linked to the Greek "ophis" and to words for snakes across Indo-European languages, but the form English speakers meet most often is the Latin one. The word's most visible English afterlife is in taxonomy. Naturalists adopted "Anguis" as a genus name for the slow-worm, a legless lizard that looks like a snake but is not one. Because the creature was long mistaken for a serpent, the Latin label stuck, and the genus has kept the name ever since.