|ferdə|lan(t)s, |fər-, -lȧn- noun
( plural fer-de-lance )
Etymology: French, literally, lance iron, spearhead
: a large extremely venomous pit viper ( Bothrops atrox ) that has a horny spine terminating the tail and that is widely distributed in Central and So. America and in some of the West Indies where it infests the sugar plantations and is greatly dreaded — called also bonetail