‖ spuugslang S. Afr.
(ˈspyːxslaŋ)
Also spoew-, spoog-, spug-, spuw-, etc.
[Afrikaans spuugslang, spoegslang, f. spu(ug), spoe(g) to spit + slang snake.]
= ringhals.
| 1789 W. Paterson Narr. Four Journeys Country of Hottentots 165 The Spoog Slang, or Spitting Snake. 1812 A. Plumptre tr. Lichtenstein's Trav. S. Afr. I. i. vii. 95 A very rare sort of serpent, called here the spugslang (the spurting snake)..is from three to four feet long, of a black colour, and..when attacked it will spurt out its venom. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 299/1 It shares with the cobra a third Dutch name, that of ‘spuw slang’ (spitting snake). 1923 Kipling Land & Sea Tales 34 He gave us half-a-crown for a spuugh-slange—a kind of snake. 1931 R. L. Ditmars Snakes of World xiii. 172 Another name [for the ringhals] is Spoew-slang, applied from the reptile's ‘spitting’ its poison. |