Word
boa
US/ˈboʊə/
UK/bˈəʊɐ/
Definition
n. a large snake that kills animals by wrapping its body around them and squeezing.
n. any of several large, non-venomous snakes of the family Boidae that kill prey by constriction.
Examples
“The performer wore a bright pink feather boa around her neck.”
“During the jungle expedition, the guide pointed out a large boa resting on a low tree branch.”
“The actress made a dramatic entrance draped in a vintage silk gown and a voluminous ostrich feather boa that trailed behind her on the red carpet.”
Examples
simple
“The performer wore a bright pink feather boa around her neck.”
contextual
“During the jungle expedition, the guide pointed out a large boa resting on a low tree branch.”
complex
“The actress made a dramatic entrance draped in a vintage silk gown and a voluminous ostrich feather boa that trailed behind her on the red carpet.”
Etymology
From Middle English boa, from Latin boa (“large snake”), a species of serpent mentioned in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (Natural History). The scarf was named attributively, for its resemblance to the snake when worn.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/boa