This article provides ethnolinguistic commentary on the word zmeevik. Mineralogy regards zmeevik as serpentinite - a rock formation that consists of various components, but mainly of the mineral serpentine. Etymologists claim that zmeevik is a loan translation from Lat. serpentinus; this source word reflects the stone’s visual likeness to snakeskin. The authors demonstrate that zmeevik has integrated well into Russian linguistic culture. The authors describe the following factors in its adaptation: 1) the linguistic factor proper: it follows a productive and native derivational pattern; 2) the cultural context: in the Russian mythopoetic tradition, there exists a connection between “snake” and “stone.” This connection functions in a number of motifs and plots, and as a result mythological narratives “layer” onto the translated loan term. One can identify three stable nominative models that apply to the mythology of snakes: “serpent stone = a stone which is in a snake’s body or originates from a snake’s bodily fluids;” “serpent stone = a stone or organic fossil that heals snake poison”; “serpent stone = a precious stone guarded by a snake or belonging to a snake.” For the Urals, most relevant is a similar mythopoetic model: “a snake guards gold in a serpent stone.” If when the word was forming it was motivated by the object’s properties, then during the word’s functioning other motivations could link to it. The authors suggest that this was not necessarily a loan translation. In Russian, there are the borrowings serpentin and ofit that name minerals, but the term serpentinite - for rock that is seen with the naked eye, that has veins and serves as the “bed” for gold - is considered an independent formation. Also significant is the fact that the word chosen for naming the rock is used specifically to describe its “serpentine,” curved appearance.