boa

noun

1. Any of a group of large American snakes, of the genus Boa, subfamily Boinae, or family Boidae, including the boa constrictor and the emperor boa of Mexico.
2. A type of long scarf; typically made from synthetic or real feathers (or occasionally fur), and usually worn by being draped across the shoulders with the ends hanging low, sometimes also with a loop around the neck.

   “Do not take up your boa as if it were the rope with which you meant to hang yourself; nor wrap your shawl round you as if it were your shroud.”

3. A member of a Bwa-speaking ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
4. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, initialism)Abbreviation of basin of attraction; the gravitational center of a supercluster of galaxies; a Great Attractor.