Snake n.  Zool. Any species of the order Ophidia; an ophidian; a serpent, whether harmless or venomous. See Ophidia, and Serpent.
 Note: ☞ Snakes are abundant in all warm countries, and much the larger number are harmless to man.
 Blind snake, Garter snake, Green snake, King snake, Milk snake, Rock snake, Water snake, etc. See under Blind, Garter, etc.
 Fetich snake Zool., a large African snake (Python Sebae) used by the natives as a fetich.
 Ringed snake Zool., a common European columbrine snake (Tropidonotus natrix).
 Snake eater. Zool. (a) The markhoor. (b) The secretary bird.
 Snake fence, a worm fence (which see). [U.S.]
 Snake fly Zool., any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus Rhaphidia; -- so called because of their large head and elongated neck and prothorax.
 Snake gourd Bot., a cucurbitaceous plant (Trichosanthes anguina) having the fruit shorter and less snakelike than that of the serpent cucumber.
 Snake killer. Zool. (a) The secretary bird. (b) The chaparral cock.
 Snake moss Bot., the common club moss (Lycopodium clavatum). See Lycopodium.
 Snake nut Bot., the fruit of a sapindaceous tree (Ophiocaryon paradoxum) of Guiana, the embryo of which resembles a snake coiled up.
 Tree snake Zool., any one of numerous species of colubrine snakes which habitually live in trees, especially those of the genus Dendrophis and allied genera.


 Grass n.
 1. Popularly: Herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts; pasture.
 2. Bot. An endogenous plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, the husks or glumes in pairs, and the seed single.
 Note: ☞ This definition includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc., and excludes clover and some other plants which are commonly called by the name of grass. The grasses form a numerous family of plants.
 3. The season of fresh grass; spring. [Colloq.]
    Two years old next grass.   --Latham.
 4. Metaphorically used for what is transitory.
    Surely the people is grass.   --Is. xl. 7.
 Note: ☞ The following list includes most of the grasses of the United States of special interest, except cereals.  Many of these terms will be found with definitions in the Vocabulary. See Illustrations in Appendix.
 Barnyard grass, for hay. South. Panicum Grus-galli.
 Bent, pasture and hay. Agrostis, several species.
 Bermuda grass, pasture. South. Cynodon Dactylon.
 Black bent. Same as Switch grass (below).
 Blue bent, hay. North and West. Andropogon provincialis.
 Blue grass, pasture. Poa compressa.
 Blue joint, hay. Northwest. Aqropyrum glaucum.
 Buffalo grass, grazing. Rocky Mts., etc. (a) Buchloë dectyloides. (b) Same as Grama grass (below).
 Bunch grass, grazing. Far West. Eriocoma, Festuca, Stips, etc.
 Chess, or Cheat, a weed. Bromus secalinus, etc.
 Couch grass. Same as Quick grass (below).
 Crab grass, (a) Hay, in South. A weed, in North. Panicum sanguinale. (b) Pasture and hay. South. Eleusine Indica.
 Darnel (a) Bearded, a noxious weed. Lolium temulentum. (b) Common. Same as Rye grass (below).
 Drop seed, fair for forage and hay. Muhlenbergia, several species.
 English grass. Same as Redtop (below).
 Fowl meadow grass. (a) Pasture and hay. Poa serotina. (b) Hay, on moist land. Gryceria nervata.
 Gama grass, cut fodder. South. Tripsacum dactyloides.
 Grama grass, grazing. West and Pacific slope. Bouteloua oligostachya, etc.
 Great bunch grass, pasture and hay. Far West. Festuca scabrella.
 Guinea grass, hay. South. Panicum jumentorum.
 Herd's grass, in New England Timothy, in Pennsylvania and South Redtop.
 Indian grass. Same as Wood grass (below).
 Italian rye grass, forage and hay. Lolium Italicum.
 Johnson grass, grazing and hay. South and Southwest. Sorghum Halepense.
 Kentucky blue grass, pasture. Poa pratensis.
 Lyme grass, coarse hay. South. Elymus, several species.
 Manna grass, pasture and hay. Glyceria, several species.
 Meadow fescue, pasture and hay. Festuca elatior.
 Meadow foxtail, pasture, hay, lawn. North. Alopecurus pratensis.
 Meadow grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Poa, several species.
 Mesquite grass, or Muskit grass. Same as Grama grass (above).
 Nimble Will, a kind of drop seed. Muhlenbergia diffsa.
 Orchard grass, pasture and hay. Dactylis glomerata.
 Porcupine grass, troublesome to sheep. Northwest. Stipa spartea.
 Quaking grass, ornamental. Briza media and maxima.
 Quitch, or Quick, grass, etc., a weed. Agropyrum repens.
 Ray grass. Same as Rye grass (below).
 Redtop, pasture and hay. Agrostis vulgaris.
 Red-topped buffalo grass, forage. Northwest. Poa tenuifolia.
 Reed canary grass, of slight value. Phalaris arundinacea.
 Reed meadow grass, hay. North. Glyceria aquatica.
 Ribbon grass, a striped leaved form of Reed canary grass.
 Rye grass, pasture, hay. Lolium perenne, var.
 Seneca grass, fragrant basket work, etc. North. Hierochloa borealis.
 Sesame grass. Same as Gama grass (above).
 Sheep's fescue, sheep pasture, native in Northern Europe and Asia. Festuca ovina.
 Small reed grass, meadow pasture and hay. North. Deyeuxia Canadensis.
 Spear grass, Same as Meadow grass (above).
 Squirrel-tail grass, troublesome to animals. Seacoast and Northwest. Hordeum jubatum.
 Switch grass, hay, cut young. Panicum virgatum.
 Timothy, cut young, the best of hay. North. Phleum pratense.
 Velvet grass, hay on poor soil. South. Holcus lanatus.
 Vernal grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Anthoxanthum odoratum.
 Wire grass, valuable in pastures. Poa compressa.
 Wood grass, Indian grass, hay. Chrysopogon nutans.
 Note: ☞ Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not true grasses botanically considered, such as black grass, goose grass, star grass, etc.
 Black grass, a kind of small rush (Juncus Gerardi), growing in salt marshes, used for making salt hay.
 Grass of the Andes, an oat grass, the Arrhenatherum avenaceum of Europe.-- Grass of Parnassus, a plant of the genus Parnassia growing in wet ground.  The European species is Parnassia palustris; in the United States there are several species.
 Grass bass Zool., the calico bass.
 Grass bird, the dunlin.
 Grass cloth, a cloth woven from the tough fibers of the grass-cloth plant.
 Grass-cloth plant, a perennial herb of the Nettle family (Bœhmeria nivea syn. Urtica nivea), which grows in Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and strong fibers suited for textile purposes.
 Grass finch. Zool. (a) A common American sparrow  (Poöcætes gramineus); -- called also vesper sparrow and bay-winged bunting. (b) Any Australian finch, of the genus Poëphila, of which several species are known.
 Grass lamb, a lamb suckled by a dam running on pasture land and giving rich milk.-- Grass land, land kept in grass and not tilled.
 Grass moth Zool., one of many small moths of the genus Crambus, found in grass.
 Grass oil, a fragrant essential volatile oil, obtained in India from grasses of the genus Andropogon, etc.; -- used in perfumery under the name of citronella, ginger grass oil, lemon grass oil, essence of verbena etc.
 Grass owl Zool., a South African owl  (Strix Capensis).
 Grass parrakeet Zool., any of several species of Australian parrots, of the genus Euphemia; --  also applied to the zebra parrakeet.
 Grass plover Zool., the upland or field plover.
 Grass poly Bot., a species of willowwort (Lythrum Hyssopifolia). --Johnson.
 Crass quit Zool., one of several tropical American finches of the genus Euetheia. The males have most of the head and chest black and often marked with yellow.
 Grass snake.  Zool. (a) The common English, or ringed, snake (Tropidonotus natrix). (b) The common green snake of the Northern United States. See Green snake, under Green.
 Grass snipe Zool., the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa maculata); -- called also jacksnipe in America.
 Grass spider Zool., a common spider (Agelena nævia), which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous when covered with dew.
 Grass sponge Zool., an inferior kind of commercial sponge from Florida and the Bahamas.
 Grass table. Arch. See Earth table, under Earth.
 Grass vetch Bot., a vetch (Lathyrus Nissolia), with narrow grasslike leaves.
 Grass widow.  [Cf. Prov. R. an unmarried mother, G. strohwittwe a mock widow, Sw. gräsenka a grass widow.] (a) An unmarried woman who is a mother. [Obs.] (b) A woman separated from her husband by abandonment or prolonged absence; a woman living apart from her husband. [Slang.]
 Grass wrack Bot. eelgrass.
 To bring to grass Mining., to raise, as ore, to the surface of the ground.
 To put to grass, To put out to grass, to put out to graze a season, as cattle.


 Green a. [Compar. Greener superl. Greenest.]
 1. Having the color of grass when fresh and growing; resembling that color of the solar spectrum which is between the yellow and the blue; verdant; emerald.
 2. Having a sickly color; wan.
    To look so green and pale.   --Shak.
 3. Full of life and vigor; fresh and vigorous; new; recent; as, a green manhood; a green wound.
    As valid against such an old and beneficent government as against . . . the greenest usurpation.   --Burke.
 4. Not ripe; immature; not fully grown or ripened; as, green fruit, corn, vegetables, etc.
 5. Not roasted; half raw. [R.]
    We say the meat is green when half roasted.   --L. Watts.
 6. Immature in age, judgment, or experience; inexperienced; young; raw; not trained; awkward; as, green in years or judgment.
    I might be angry with the officious zeal which supposes that its green conceptions can instruct my gray hairs.   --Sir W. Scott.
 7. Not seasoned; not dry; containing its natural juices; as, green wood, timber, etc.
 Green brier Bot., a thorny climbing shrub (Emilaz rotundifolia) having a yellowish green stem and thick leaves, with small clusters of flowers, common in the United States; -- called also cat brier.
 Green con Zool., the pollock.
 Green crab Zool., an edible, shore crab (Carcinus menas) of Europe and America; -- in New England locally named joe-rocker.
 Green crop, a crop used for food while in a growing or unripe state, as distingushed from a grain crop, root crop, etc.
 Green diallage. Min. (a) Diallage, a variety of pyroxene. (b) Smaragdite.
 Green dragon Bot., a North American herbaceous plant (Arisæma Dracontium), resembling the Indian turnip; -- called also dragon root.
 Green earth Min., a variety of glauconite, found in cavities in amygdaloid and other eruptive rock, and used as a pigment by artists; -- called also mountain green.
 Green ebony. (a) A south American tree (Jacaranda ovalifolia), having a greenish wood, used for rulers, turned and inlaid work, and in dyeing. (b) The West Indian green ebony. See Ebony.
 Green fire (Pyrotech.), a composition which burns with a green flame. It consists of sulphur and potassium chlorate, with some salt of barium (usually the nitrate), to which the color of the flame is due.
 Green fly Zool., any green species of plant lice or aphids, esp. those that infest greenhouse plants.
 Green gage, Bot. See Greengage, in the Vocabulary.
 Green gland Zool., one of a pair of large green glands in Crustacea, supposed to serve as kidneys. They have their outlets at the bases of the larger antennæ.
 Green hand, a novice. [Colloq.]
 Green heart Bot., the wood of a lauraceous tree found in the West Indies and in South America, used for shipbuilding or turnery. The green heart of Jamaica and Guiana is the Nectandra Rodiœi, that of Martinique is the Colubrina ferruginosa.
 Green iron ore  (Min.) dufrenite.
 Green laver Bot., an edible seaweed  (Ulva latissima); -- called also green sloke.
 Green lead ore (Min.), pyromorphite.
 Green linnet Zool., the greenfinch.
 Green looper Zool., the cankerworm.
 Green marble (Min.), serpentine.
 Green mineral, a carbonate of copper, used as a pigment. See Greengill.
 Green monkey Zool. a West African long-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus callitrichus), very commonly tamed, and trained to perform tricks. It was introduced into the West Indies early in the last century, and has become very abundant there.
 Green salt of Magnus (Old Chem.), a dark green crystalline salt, consisting of ammonia united with certain chlorides of platinum.
 Green sand (Founding)  molding sand used for a mold while slightly damp, and not dried before the cast is made.
 Green sea (Naut.), a wave that breaks in a solid mass on a vessel's deck.
 Green sickness Med., chlorosis.
 Green snake Zool., one of two harmless American snakes (Cyclophis vernalis, and C. æstivus). They are bright green in color.
 Green turtle Zool., an edible marine turtle. See Turtle.
 Green vitriol. (a) Chem. Sulphate of iron; a light green crystalline substance, very extensively used in the preparation of inks, dyes, mordants, etc. (b) Min. Same as copperas, melanterite and sulphate of iron.
 Green ware, articles of pottery molded and shaped, but not yet baked.
 Green woodpecker Zool., a common European woodpecker (Picus viridis); -- called also yaffle.


 green snake
      n 1: any of numerous African green snakes
      2: either of two North American chiefly insectivorous green
         snakes [syn: grass snake]