Homophones for adder, attar, atter

adder / attar / atter [ˈædər]

adder – n. – 1. a non-venomous North American snake such as the hog-nose snake; 2. a small, venomous Asian or European snake such as the viper, Vipera berus

attar – n. – an essential oil, especially from rose petals

atter – adv., conj., n., prep. & v. – adv. – 1. behind something; 2. having a lower rank; 3. afterwards; conj. – following a stated time, subsequent; n. – 1. poison, reptile venom; 2. figuratively, gall, bitterness; 3. discharge from an infection; prep. – 1. following, behind; 2. In search of; v. – 1. make bitter; 2. poison

Discussion

Atter is hard to find because it is confused with after by the search engines. To say nothing of all the words that contain it – matter, latter pattern, batter… the first two are much easier.

That said, if you have ever walked by a blooming, fragrant rose bush early in the morning or after a rain, you may recognize the appeal of attar and why people for millennia have gone to such lengths to preserve this fragrance. At the same time, you will want to be assured that no adder is lounging nearby, especially if you live in Europe or Asia…

Double ‘t’s’ in the middle of words often morph into the ‘d’ sound in every day speech…