Definition of "fer-de-lance" []

• A venomous tropical American pit viper (Bothrops atrox) having brown and grayish markings. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The more ferocious snakes here include fer-de-lance Bothrops asper, coral snake Micrurus spp., boa constrictor Boa constrictor, palm pit-viper Bothriechis spp. and bushmaster Lachesis muta."
• "Yet it wasn't until Bill and I brought home the fer-de-lance in a mayonnaise jar that Mama laid down an absolute law about no contact with Brazilian wildlife of any sort."
• "The snakes include the anaconda Eunectes murinus, fer-de-lance Bothrops asper, palm pit-vipers Bothriechis spp., coral snakes Micrurus spp., the bushmaster Lachesis muta and boa constrictor Boa constrictor."