Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SNAKE, n. [Sax. snaca; Dan. snog; G. schnake; (Sans. naga. Qu.) In G. schnecke, Dan. snekke, is a snail, from the root of Dan. sniger, Ir. snaighim, Sax. snican, to creep, to sneak.]

A serpent of the oviparous kind, distinguished from a viper, says Johnson. But in America, the common and general name of serpents, and so the word is used by the poets. – Dryden. Shak.