snakehead

n. 1. A loose, bent-up end of one of the strap rails, or flat rails, formerly used on American railroads. It was sometimes so bent by the passage of a train as to slip over a wheel and pierce the bottom of a car. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) (a) The turtlehead. (b) The Guinea-hen flower. See Snake's-head, and under Guinea. [ 1913 Webster ]