OPHITE


Meaning of OPHITE in English

I. -fīt noun

( -s )

Etymology: Latin, from Greek ophitēs ( lithos ), literally, serpentine stone, from ophitēs like a snake, from ophis

: any of various usually green and often mottled or blotched rocks (as a serpentine or serpentine marble)

II. noun

( -s )

Usage: usually capitalized

Etymology: Late Latin Ophitae, plural, from Late Greek Ophitai, plural, from Greek ophis snake + -itae, plural of -ites -ite — more at anguis

: a member of a Gnostic sect or group of sects including the Naassenes and Perates that revered the serpent as the symbol of the hidden divine wisdom and as having befriended Adam and Eve by persuading them to eat of the tree of knowledge

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.