dragon
English
Etymology
From Old French dragon, from Latin dracō, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drakōn, “a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon”), probably from δρακεῖν (drakein), aorist active infinitive of δέρκομαι (derkomai, “I see clearly”).
Pronunciation
Noun
dragon (plural dragons)
- A legendary, serpentine or reptilian creature.
- (Western) 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.
- circa 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.
- circa 1900, Edith Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons:
- (Eastern) A large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent
- 1913, Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, chapter 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, chapter XIII:
- (Western) 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.
- (zoology) 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.
- 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I, Scene 2:
- My father compounded with my mother vnder the Dragons taile, and my nativity was vnder Vrsa Maior.
- 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I, Scene 2:
- (pejorative) An unpleasant woman; a harridan.
- She’s a bit of a dragon.
- (with definite article, often capitalized) The (historical) Chinese empire or the People's Republic of China.
- Napoleon already warned of the awakening of the Dragon.
- (figuratively) Something very formidable or dangerous.
- 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.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Fairholt to this entry?)
- A variety of carrier pigeon.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Derived terms
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Related terms
Synonyms
- (legendary creature): drake, monster, serpent, wyrm, wyvern, lindworm
- (unpleasant woman): battle-axe, bitch, harridan, shrew, termagant, virago
Translations
mythical creature
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lizard of the genus Draco — see Draco
Komodo dragon — see Komodo dragon
constellation Draco — see Draco
pejorative: unpleasant woman
nickname for the Chinese empire and the People's Republic of China
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
- basilisk
- serpent
- wyvern
- wurm
- Saint George
- Saint Patrick
Dutch
Etymology 1
From Arabic
Noun
dragon m (uncountable)
- The edible Mediterranean herb Artemisia dracunculus, used as a salad spice
- The plant Erysimum cheiranthoides
Synonyms
- (second plant) steenraket
Etymology 2
French (see below)
Noun
dragon m (plural dragons, diminutive dragonnetje)
- A (French) dragoon
Synonyms
- dragonder m
French
Etymology
From Latin draco
Noun
dragon m (plural dragons; feminine dragonne, plural dragonnes)
Derived terms
Related terms
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Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
Noun
dragon
- A dragon.
- 1382 — Wyclif's Bible, Daniel 14:26
- Therfor Daniel took pitch, and talow, and heeris, and sethide togidere; and he made gobetis, and yaf in to the mouth of the dragun; and the dragun was al to-brokun.
- 1380-1399 — Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, The Parson's Tale
- For God seith thus by Moyses: they shul been wasted with hunger, and the briddes of helle shul devouren hem with bitter deeth, and the galle of the dragon shal been hire drynke, and the venym of the dragon hire morsels.
- 1382 — Wyclif's Bible, Daniel 14:26
Old French
Noun
dragon m (oblique plural dragons, nominative singular dragons, nominative plural dragon)
- dragon (mythical animal)
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA: /draˈɡuːn/
Noun
dragon c
- a dragoon (soldier of the mounted infantry)
- the perennial herb tarragon
- leaves of that plant, used as seasoning
Declension
Declension of dragon
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite |
| nominative | dragon | dragonen | dragoner | dragonerna |
| genitive | dragons | dragonens | dragoners | dragonernas |
Related terms
- dragonregemente
- dragonättika
- dragonört
References
- dragon in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
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