ˌanəˈkändə noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably modification of Singhalese henakandayā green whip snake ( Dryophis mycterizans ), understood to be a name for the python, literally, lightning stem, from hena lightning + kanda stem (probably from Sanskrit, bulbous root, perhaps of Dravidian origin; akin to Tamil kaṇṭa bulbous root, Tulu kaṇḍe ) + -yā (nominal suffix)
1. archaic : a python of Ceylon
2. : a large arboreal snake ( Eunectes murinus ) of the boa family of tropical So. America having a double row of large black spots along the back, being semiaquatic in its habits, capturing its food by lying in wait in trees at watering places chiefly at night for animals that come to drink, and being powerful enough to crush in its coils a small deer though subsisting mostly on smaller animals and waterfowl
3. : any large constricting snake other than an anaconda
[s]anaconda.jpg[/s]