Word Study
black snake
CIDE DICTIONARY
black snake, n.
A snake of a black color, of which two species are common in the United States, the Bascanium constrictor , or racer, sometimes six feet long, and the Scotophis Alleghaniensis , seven or eight feet long. [1913 Webster]
" The name is also applied to various other black serpents, as Natrix atra of Jamaica." [1913 Webster]
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