Definition of Dragan
Dragon, a fabulous monster, being a hideous impersonation of some
form of deadly evil, which only preternatural heroic strength and courage
can subdue, and on the subdual and slaying of which depends the
achievement of some conquest of vital moment to the human race or some
members of it; is represented in mediæval art as a large, lizard-like
animal, with the claws of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of
a serpent, with open jaws ready and eager to devour, which some knight
high-mounted thrusts at to pierce to death with a spear; in the Greek
mythology it is represented with eyes ever on the watch, in symbol of the
evil that waylays us to kill us if we don't kill it, as in guarding the
"Apples of the Hesperides" and the "Golden Fleece," because these are
prizes that fall only to those who are as watchful of him as he is of
them; and it is consecrated to Minerva to signify that true wisdom, as
sensible of the ever-wakeful dragon, never goes to sleep, but is equally
ever on the watch.
- Wikipedia
Drag"on (?), n. [F. dragon, L.
draco, fr. Gr. &?;, prob. fr. &?;, &?;, to look (akin to Skr.
dar&?; to see), and so called from its terrible eyes. Cf.
Drake a dragon, Dragoon.] 1.
(Myth.) 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.
&fist; 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.) 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.) 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.) 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.) A variety of carrier
pigeon.
8. (Her.) A fabulous winged creature,
sometimes borne as a charge in a coat of arms.
&fist; 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 &?;. The
deviation from the ecliptic made by a planet in passing from one node
to the other seems, according to the fancy of some, to make a figure
like that of a dragon, whose belly is where there is the greatest
latitude; the intersections representing the head and tail; -- from
which resemblance the denomination arises. 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 &?;. See 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.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
- a mythical beast, commonly reptilian with wings, claws and a tail.
- a reptile, especially a Komodo dragon.
- a possible early word for dinosaur
- (derogatory) an unpleasant woman; a harridan.
She's a bit of a dragon.
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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