Dragon
WordNet
noun
(1) Any of several small tropical Asian lizards capable of gliding by spreading winglike membranes on each side of the body
(2) A faint constellation twisting around the north celestial pole and lying between Ursa Major and Cepheus
(3) A creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
(4) A fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From , from , from , probably from , aorist active infinitive of .
Noun
- A mythical, serpentine or reptilian creature.
- (Western) A gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a serpent-like tail, often a monster with fiery breath.
- c.1900 — Edith Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons
- But as every well-brought-up prince was expected to kill a dragon, and rescue a princess, the dragons grew fewer and fewer till it was often quite hard for a princess to find a dragon to be rescued from.
- c.1900 — Edith Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons
- (Eastern) A large, snake-like lizard with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually benefic
- 1913 — Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, ch XIII
- These tapestries were magnificently figured with golden dragons; and as the serpentine bodies gleamed and shimmered in the increasing radiance, each dragon, I thought, intertwined its glittering coils more closely with those of another.
- 1913 — Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, ch XIII
- (Western) A gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a serpent-like tail, often a monster with fiery breath.
- Certain animal species which resemble a dragon in appearance:
- A very large snake; a python.
- A lizard of the genus Draco.
- The Komodo dragon.
- The constellation Draco.
- 1605 — William Shakespeare, King Lear, i 2
- My father compounded with my mother vnder the Dragons taile, and my nativity was vnder Vrsa Maior.
- 1605 — William Shakespeare, King Lear, i 2
- An unpleasant woman; a harridan.
- She’s a bit of a dragon.
- (absolute use, often capitalized: "the Dragon") The nickname for the Chinese empire and People's Republic of China
- Napoleon already warned for the awakening of the Dragon.
- (figuratively) Something very formidable or dangerous.
Synonyms
- (legendary creature): drake, monster, serpent, wyrm, wyvern, lindworm
- (unpleasant woman): battle-axe, bitch, harridan, shrew, termagant, virago