English
puff adder
Puff adder comes from Dutch pofadder ‘puff adder, a viper of the genus Bitis’.
- Dutchc. 1500–presentpofadder‘puff adder, a viper of the genus Bitis’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886puff adder
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Dutchc. 1500–presentpofadder‘puff adder, a viper of the genus Bitis’
- Englishearliest quotation 1886puff adder
Earliest quotation: 1886, – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard: “In the pools, too, was a species of small…”.
Every English word from Dutch pofadder
Today it means
noun Any viper or adder in genus Bitis,
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Dutch pofadder / puff adder