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ring·hals

(rĭnghăls′) also rink·hals (rĭngk-)

n. pl. ring·hals·es also rink·hals·es

An African snake (Hemachatus haemachatus) that has one or two whitish bands across the neck and sprays venom at the eyes of an attacker, occasionally causing blindness.

[Obsolete Afrikaans : ring, ring (from Middle Dutch rinc; see sker-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + hals, neck (from Middle Dutch; see k^wel-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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