ETYMOLOGY
Latin, from Greek σκολόπενδρα (skolopendra) (centipede)
EXAMPLE (for n. 3.)
“… I have bought it gentlemen, and you in a mist
Shall see what I paid for it, thou hast not drunke yet:
Nere feare the reckning man, more wine , you varletts,
And call your Mistris, your Scolopendra
If we like her complexion, we may dine here. …”
From: The Gamester
By James Shirley, 1633
PRONUNCIATION
skol-oh-PEN-druh
Lexicophilia 