ammodyte Zool.
(ˈæmədaɪt)
[ad. L. ammodytes, a. Gr. ἀµµοδύτης a sand-burrower; f. ἄµµος sand + δύτης diver, f. δύ-ειν to dive.]
† 1. A venomous snake, the Sand-Natter, a species of Viper found in Southern Europe. Obs.
| 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 763 By the same means that the poyson of the Viper, the Ammodyte and Horned-serpent is cured withal. 1627 May Lucan ix. 822 Sand-colour'd Ammodytes, the horned snakes. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 131 The Surinam serpent, which some improperly call the ammodytes. |
2. The Sand-eel, Ammodytes of modern zoologists.
| 1698 Sibbald in Phil. Trans. XX. 266 The Women that catched the Sand Eels (Ammodites). 1748 Sir J. Hill Hist. Anim. 225 (Jod.) Ammodytes, the sandeel, or grig. 1847 Carpenter Zool. §577 The Ammodytes or Launces are remarkable for their habit of burrowing in the sand. |