Adder
/ˈæd.ər/noun
A venomous snake, especially a viper.
Did you know?Adder is a classic example of a word that shifted by rebracketing: Old English nǣdre meant “snake,” but the phrase a naddre was heard as an adder, creating the modern form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁neḱ-
“to crawl, snake”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*nēdrǭ
“snake, serpent”
Old English
English
nǣdre
“snake, serpent”
12th Century
English
a nadder
“a snake, with the article reanalyzed as part of the word”
Middle English
English
adder
“snake, especially a viper”
Modern English
English
adder
“a venomous snake, especially a viper”