milk snake


noun

any of numerous, usually brightly marked king snakes of the subspecies Lampropeltis triangulum (doliata), of North America.
Also called house snake, milk adder.

Origin of milk snake

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; so called because they were said to suck milk from cows

British Dictionary definitions for milk adder

milk snake

noun

a nonvenomous brown-and-grey North American colubrid snake Lampropeltis doliata, related to the king snakes