ˈvīpə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French vipere, from Latin vipera adder, snake, perhaps from vivi- + -pera (from parere to give birth to, produce); from an old belief that it is viviparous — more at pare
1.
a. : a common European venomous snake ( Vipera berus ) that attains a length of two feet, varies in color from red, brown, or gray with dark markings to black, occurs across Eurasia from England to Sakhalin, and that is rarely fatal to man ; broadly : any snake of the venomous Old World family Viperidae and sometimes of the closely related Crotalidae
b. : a venomous or reputedly venomous snake
2. : a dangerous, malignant, or treacherous person
they forgot that this helpless, shapeless mass of humanity … was a viper they must crush — Liam O'Flaherty