DRAGON

dragon, flying dragon, flying lizard

(noun) any of several small tropical Asian lizards capable of gliding by spreading winglike membranes on each side of the body

Draco, Dragon

(noun) a faint constellation twisting around the north celestial pole and lying between Ursa Major and Cepheus

dragon, firedrake

(noun) a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings

dragon, tartar

(noun) a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Dragon

The fifth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.

the Devil.

Synonym: Thesaurus:Satan

Anagrams

• Dorgan, Gordan, gardon

Etymology 1

Noun

dragon (plural dragons)

A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature.

In Western mythology, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a serpent-like body, often a monster with fiery breath.

In Eastern mythology, a large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent.

An animal of various species that resemble a dragon in appearance

(obsolete) A very large snake; a python.

Any of various agamid lizards of the genera Draco, Physignathus or Pogona.

A Komodo dragon.

(astronomy, with definite article, often capitalized) The constellation Draco.

(pejorative) A fierce and unpleasant woman; a harridan.

(with definite article, often capitalized) The (historical) Chinese empire or the People's Republic of China.

(figuratively) Something very formidable or dangerous.

A type of playing-tile (red dragon, green dragon, white dragon) in the game of mahjong.

A luminous exhalation from marshy ground, seeming to move through the air like a winged serpent.

(military, historical) A short musket hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt; so called from a representation of a dragon's head at the muzzle.

(computing, rare) A background process similar to a daemon.

A variety of carrier pigeon.

Synonyms

• (legendary creature): drake, wyrm, wyvern, lindworm, afgod (heraldry, obsolete)

• (unpleasant woman): dragon lady, see also shrew

Hypernyms

• (legendary creature): monster, serpent

Etymology 2

Noun

dragon (plural dragons)

(slang) A transvestite man, or more broadly a male-to-female transgender person.

Anagrams

• Dorgan, Gordan, gardon

Source: Wiktionary


Drag"on, n. Etym: [F. dragon, L. draco, fr. Gr. dar to see), and so called from its terrible eyes. Cf. Drake a dragon, Dragoon.]

1. (Myth.)

Definition: A fabulous animal, generally represented as a monstrous winged serpent or lizard, with a crested head and enormous claws, and regarded as very powerful and ferocious. The dragons which appear in early paintings and sculptures are invariably representations of a winged crocodile. Fairholt.

Note: In Scripture the term dragon refers to any great monster, whether of the land or sea, usually to some kind of serpent or reptile, sometimes to land serpents of a powerful and deadly kind. It is also applied metaphorically to Satan. Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Ps. lxxiv. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Ps. xci. 13. He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Rev. xx. 2.

2. A fierce, violent person, esp. a woman. Johnson.

3. (Astron.)

Definition: A constellation of the northern hemisphere figured as a dragon; Draco.

4. A luminous exhalation from marshy grounds, seeming to move through the air as a winged serpent.

5. (Mil. Antiq.)

Definition: A short musket hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt;

– so called from a representation of a dragon's head at the muzzle. Fairholt.

6. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A small arboreal lizard of the genus Draco, of several species, found in the East Indies and Southern Asia. Five or six of the hind ribs, on each side, are prolonged and covered with weblike skin, forming a sort of wing. These prolongations aid them in making long leaps from tree to tree. Called also flying lizard.

7. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A variety of carrier pigeon.

8. (Her.)

Definition: A fabulous winged creature, sometimes borne as a charge in a coat of arms.

Note: Dragon is often used adjectively, or in combination, in the sense of relating to, resembling, or characteristic of, a dragon. Dragon arum (Bot.), the name of several species of Arisæma, a genus of plants having a spathe and spadix. See Dragon root(below).

– Dragon fish (Zoöl.), the dragonet.

– Dragon fly (Zoöl.), any insect of the family Libellulidæ. They have finely formed, large and strongly reticulated wings, a large head with enormous eyes, and a long body; -- called also mosquito hawks. Their larvæ are aquatic and insectivorous.

– Dragon root (Bot.), an American aroid plant (Arisæma Dracontium); green dragon.

– Dragon's blood, a resinous substance obtained from the fruit of several species of Calamus, esp. from C. Rotang and C. Draco, growing in the East Indies. A substance known as dragon's blood is obtained by exudation from Dracæna Draco; also from Pterocarpus Draco, a tree of the West Indies and South America. The color is red, or a dark brownish red, and it is used chiefly for coloring varnishes, marbles, etc. Called also Cinnabar Græcorum.

– Dragon's head. (a) (Bot.) A plant of several species of the genus Dracocephalum. They are perennial herbs closely allied to the common catnip. (b) (Astron.) The ascending node of a planet, indicated, chiefly in almanacs, by the symbol Encyc. Brit.

– Dragon shell (Zoöl.), a species of limpet.

– Dragon's skin, fossil stems whose leaf scars somewhat resemble the scales of reptiles; -- a name used by miners and quarrymen. Stormonth.

– Dragon's tail (Astron.), the descending node of a planet, indicated by the symbol Dragon's head (above).

– Dragon's wort (Bot.), a plant of the genus Artemisia (A. dracunculus).

– Dragon tree (Bot.), a West African liliaceous tree (Dracæna Draco), yielding one of the resins called dragon's blood. See Dracæna.

– Dragon water, a medicinal remedy very popular in the earlier half of the 17th century. "Dragon water may do good upon him." Randolph (1640).

– Flying dragon, a large meteoric fireball; a bolide.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET



Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

coffee icon