/seuh ras"teez/ , n. , pl. cerastes .
any of several small vipers of the genus Cerastes, including the horned viper, that have a sideways looping motion like that of a sidewinder and inhabit deserts of northern Africa and southwestern Asia.
[ 1768; kerástes lit., something horned, equiv. to kerat- s. of kéras horn + -tes n. suffix; earlier in sense "asp," ME ]