fer-de-lance Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun large extremely venomous pit viper of Central America and South America
    Bothrops atrops.

WordNet

Fer`-de-lance" noun
Etymology
F., the iron of a lance, lance head.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A large, venomous serpent (Trigonocephalus lanceolatus now Bothrops atrox) of Brazil and the West Indies. It is allied to the rattlesnake, but has no rattle. also in Central America.

Webster 1913