corn snake

noun

large harmless snake of southeastern United States; often on farms

• Syn: ↑red rat snake, ↑Elaphe guttata

• Hypernyms: ↑rat snake

• Member Holonyms: ↑Elaphe, ↑genus Elaphe

* * *

noun

Etymology: so called from its being found in corncribs and cornfields

: a large harmless No. American snake (Elaphe guttata) brightly blotched with scarlet on a grayish ground — called also red rat snake

* * *

a large, harmless rat snake, Elaphe guttata guttata, of the southeastern U.S., having yellow, tan, or gray scales with dark-red blotches: once common in cornfields but now an endangered species. Also called red rat snake.

[1670-80, Amer.]

* * *

corn snake noun

A harmless snake (Coluber guttatus) of the southern USA

• • •

Main Entry: ↑corn

* * *

corn snake,

a large, harmless rat snake, common in the southern United States, where it is found in cornfields and granaries.

* * *

n. a long North American rat snake with a spear-shaped mark between the eyes. ● Elaphe guttata, family Colubridae

Origin:

late 17th cent.: so named because often found in cornfields