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C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈædɚ/ UK /ˈædə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a small venomous snake of the viper family

An adder slid silently across the sun-warmed path.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small venomous snake of... viper snake serpent

Etymology

From Middle English addre, from Old English nǣdre ('snake'), from Proto-Germanic *nēdrǭ; the initial n was lost through misdivision of 'a nadder' as 'an adder'. From the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)neh₁- ('to spin, twist').

nǣdre Old English *nēdrǭ Proto-Germanic

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Family & Relationships Word Formation & Derivatives

# adder

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈædɚ
**IPA (UK):** ˈædə

## Meanings
1. a small venomous snake of the viper family

## Examples
- An adder slid silently across the sun-warmed path.

## Synonyms
- viper
- snake
- serpent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nǣdre
- Root: *nēdrǭ

## Etymology
From Middle English addre, from Old English nǣdre ('snake'), from Proto-Germanic *nēdrǭ; the initial n was lost through misdivision of 'a nadder' as 'an adder'. From the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)neh₁- ('to spin, twist').

## AI Etymology
Adder is a noun meaning "a small venomous snake of the viper family". Historically, it is from Middle English addre, from Old English nǣdre ('snake'), from Proto-Germanic *nēdrǭ; the initial n was lost through misdivision of 'a nadder' as 'an adder'. From the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)neh₁- ('to spin, twist'). The historical chain links Old English nǣdre with Proto-Germanic *nēdrǭ. This keeps the modern noun sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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