Definition of "serpentining"

Among the waltzings, and the droppings, and the swarmings of the sounds, Pierre now heard the tones above deftly stealing and winding among the myriad serpentinings of the other melody: […]

1852 July, Herman Melville, “Book VI. Isabel, and the First Part of the Story of Isabel.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], section VI, page 172