Slytherin

//ˈslɪðəɹɪn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person having traits associated with Slytherin house from the Harry Potter series, including ambition, cunning, or an affinity for snakes or the colours green and silver.

    "“You know, there are colors beyond black and green. You're not a Slytherin.”"

Example

More examples

"“You know, there are colors beyond black and green. You're not a Slytherin.”"

Etymology

Coined by British author and philanthropist J. K. Rowling, presumably from slither (verb) + -in (variant of -en (“pertaining to”)) or -ing (“belonging to; of the kind of”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.