An archaic or dialectal term for a venomous creature, particularly a snake or spider; variant of 'atter.'
Related to Old English 'atter' (poison/venom) and possibly Germanic roots. The '-n' suffix may derive from agent noun formation, meaning 'one that has atter or venom.'
English once had multiple words for venomous creatures—'attern,' 'attercop,' 'atter'—showing how specific medieval people were about describing different kinds of poisonous things they encountered.
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