black mamba
A large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepisA large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepis. Despite the name, this species of snake is not black; its colour ranges widely from olive-brown, khaki or grey, sometimes to darker hues, especially when old. The inside of the mouth is black, but in spite of a recent urban legend there is no indication that that has anything to do with the name "black mamba", which is a much older usage than any such suggestion.
» The black mamba slithered through the tall grass silently.
Meaning
1 sensesA large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepis. Despite the name, this species of snake is not black; its colour ranges widely from olive-brown, khaki or grey, sometimes to darker hues, especially when old. The inside of the mouth is black, but in spite of a recent urban legend there is no indication that that has anything to do with the name "black mamba", which is a much older usage than any such suggestion.
чёрная ма́мбаčórnaja mámba
- a highly venomous southern African mamba dreaded because of its quickness and readiness to bite
Examples
3 sentencesThe black mamba slithered through the tall grass silently.
The African Black mamba is a large and highly venomous snake.
Black Mamba is out.
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Predominantly the Zulu language iMambaPredominantly the Zulu language iMamba
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: black mambas| Singular | black mamba |
|---|---|
| Plural | black mambas |
regular
Synonyms
1 synonyms- a highly venomous southern African mamba dreaded because of its quickness and readiness to bite:Dendroaspis augusticeps