Basilisk Definition
băsə-lĭsk, băz-
basilisks
noun
A legendary serpent or dragon with lethal breath and glance.
American Heritage
A mythical lizardlike monster with supposedly fatal breath and glance, fabled to have been hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg.
Webster's New World
Any of various tropical American lizards of the genus Basiliscus, having a crest on the head and back and fringes of skin around the toes of the hind feet that enable it to run upright across the surface of water for short distances.
American Heritage
Any of a genus (Basiliscus) of iguanas with an erectile crest on the back and tail and an inflatable pouch on the head.
Webster's New World
An obsolete kind of cannon.
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Basilisk
Noun
Singular:
basilisk
Plural:
basilisksOrigin of Basilisk
Middle English from Old French basilisc from Latin basiliscus from Greek basiliskos a kind of extremely venomous snake with a bright crownlike mark on its head from diminutive of basileus king
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Middle English, from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basiliskos, “royal, imperial”), from βασιλεύς (basileus, “king”).
From Wiktionary
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