Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

black mamba

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.64 in modern English

Syllables
black- -mam-ba
IPA
24
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepis. Despite the name, this species of snake is not black; its colour ranges widely from olive-brown, khaki or grey, sometimes to darker hues, especially when old. The inside of the mouth is black, but in spite of a recent urban legend there is no indication that that has anything to do with the name "black mamba", which is a much older usage than any such suggestion.

Etymology

Predominantly the Zulu language iMamba

Inflected Forms

black mambas (plural)

Synonyms

dendroaspis polylepis

Questions

What does black mamba mean?
A large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepis. Despite the name, this species of snake is not black; its colour ranges widely from olive-brown, khaki or grey, sometimes to darker hues, especially when old. The inside of the mouth is black, but in spite of a recent urban legend there is no indication that that has anything to do with the name "black mamba", which is a much older usage than any such suggestion.
Where does black mamba come from?
Predominantly the Zulu language iMamba

How to pronounce black mamba

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