noun the constellation serpens.
2. serpent ·noun fig.: a subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
3. serpent ·vt to wind; to encircle.
4. serpent ·vi to wind like a serpent; to crook about; to meander.
5. serpent ·noun a species of firework having a serpentine motion as it passess through the air or along the ground.
6. serpent ·noun any reptile of the order ophidia; a snake, especially a large snake. ·see ·illust. under ophidia.
7. serpent ·noun a bass wind instrument, of a loud and coarse tone, formerly much used in military bands, and sometimes introduced into the orchestra;
so called from its form.