Serpentin

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A twisting, winding line or route resembling the shape of a snake ; a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral that is typically green and often used for ornamental purposes
2. A sinuous or snaking course or pattern ; a metamorphic rock composed mainly of magnesium silicate, often worked into decorative objects
3. A meandering or serpentine trajectory or form ; a mineral rock of magnesium silicate composition, typically green or mottled in appearance and valued for carving and ornamentation

Etymology: Its root is Latin "serpens," meaning serpent or snake, and the adjective "serpentinus" meant snake-like or winding. French took this shape and applied it to objects. "Serpentin" there names a coiled metal pipe, such as the cooling coil in a still, where the tube doubles back on itself like a snake. The same twisting form gave French its word for the paper streamer thrown at carnivals, which uncoils through the air. The mineral serpentine, a green rock often mottled like snakeskin, shares this Latin root and entered English with the same sense of snake-like patterning. German "Serpentine," used for a road with a series of sharp bends, was likely borrowed from French or Italian, extending the image of a snaking path.