serpent eater

Secretary \Sec"re*ta*ry\, n.; pl. {Secretaries}. [F.
   secr['e]taire (cf. Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It.
   secretario, segretario) LL. secretarius, originally, a
   confidant, one intrusted with secrets, from L. secretum a
   secret. See {Secret}, a. & n.]
   1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [R.]
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   2. A person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches,
      public or private papers, records, and the like; an
      official scribe, amanuensis, or writer; one who attends to
      correspondence, and transacts other business, for an
      association, a public body, or an individual.
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            That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance
            with the secretaries, and employed men of
            ambassadors.                          --Bacon.
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   3. An officer of state whose business is to superintend and
      manage the affairs of a particular department of
      government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet or
      advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary
      of state, who conducts the correspondence and attends to
      the relations of a government with foreign courts; the
      secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of
      finance; the secretary of war, etc.
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   4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and
      for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.
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   5. (Zool.) The secretary bird.
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   {Secretary bird}. [So called in allusion to the tufts of
      feathers at the back of its head, which were fancifully
      thought to resemble pens stuck behind the ear.] (Zool.) A
      large long-legged raptorial bird ({Gypogeranus
      serpentarius}), native of South Africa, but now
      naturalized in the West Indies and some other tropical
      countries. It has a powerful hooked beak, a crest of long
      feathers, and a long tail. It feeds upon reptiles of
      various kinds, and is much prized on account of its habit
      of killing and devouring snakes of all kinds. Called also
      {serpent eater}.
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   Syn: See the Note under {Clerk}, n., 4.
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Serpent \Ser"pent\, n. [F., fr. L. serpens, -entis (sc. bestia),
   fr. serpens, p. pr. of serpere to creep; akin to Gr. ???,
   Skr. sarp, and perhaps to L. repere, E. reptile. Cf.
   {Herpes}.]
   1. (Zool.) Any reptile of the order Ophidia; a snake,
      especially a large snake. See Illust. under {Ophidia}.
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   Note: The serpents are mostly long and slender, and move
         partly by bending the body into undulations or folds
         and pressing them against objects, and partly by using
         the free edges of their ventral scales to cling to
         rough surfaces. Many species glide swiftly over the
         ground, some burrow in the earth, others live in trees.
         A few are entirely aquatic, and swim rapidly. See
         {Ophidia}, and {Fang}.
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   2. Fig.: A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
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   3. A species of firework having a serpentine motion as it
      passess through the air or along the ground.
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   4. (Astron.) The constellation Serpens.
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   5. (Mus.) A bass wind instrument, of a loud and coarse tone,
      formerly much used in military bands, and sometimes
      introduced into the orchestra; -- so called from its form.
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   {Pharaoh's serpent} (Chem.), mercuric sulphocyanate, a
      combustible white substance which in burning gives off a
      poisonous vapor and leaves a peculiar brown voluminous
      residue which is expelled in a serpentine from. It is
      employed as a scientific toy.

   {Serpent cucumber} (Bot.), the long, slender, serpentine
      fruit of the cucurbitaceous plant {Trichosanthes
      colubrina}; also, the plant itself.

   {Serpent eage} (Zool.), any one of several species of
      raptorial birds of the genera {Circaetus} and {Spilornis},
      which prey on serpents. They inhabit Africa, Southern
      Europe, and India. The European serpent eagle is
      {Circaetus Gallicus}.

   {Serpent eater}. (Zool.)
      (a) The secretary bird.
      (b) An Asiatic antelope; the markhoor.

   {Serpent fish} (Zool.), a fish ({Cepola rubescens}) with a
      long, thin, compressed body, and a band of red running
      lengthwise.

   {Serpent star} (Zool.), an ophiuran; a brittle star.

   {Serpent's tongue} (Paleon.), the fossil tooth of a shark; --
      so called from its resemblance to a tongue with its root.
      

   {Serpent withe} (Bot.), a West Indian climbing plant
      ({Aristolochia odoratissima}).

   {Tree serpent} (Zool.), any species of African serpents
      belonging to the family {Dendrophidae}.
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