boa

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long decorative scarf made of feathers, fur, or a similar fluffy material

   She wore a heavy fur boa around her neck.

2. 2
   noun

   a large nonvenomous constricting snake, especially one of the family Boidae

   The boa tightened its coils around the branch.

From Middle English boa, from Latin boa, the name of a large snake mentioned by Pliny. The long fur or feather scarf acquired the same name because, when draped around the shoulders, it resembles a snake coiled around the wearer.

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