Anaconda \An`a*con"da\, n. [Of Ceylonese origin?] (Zo["o]l.) A large South American snake of the Boa family (Eunectes murinus), which lives near rivers, and preys on birds and small mammals. The name is also applied to a similar large serpent (Python tigris) of Ceylon.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)