Bās'ī-lisk, n.

n. [Lat. basilicus, Gr. βασιλίσκος, a little king, a kind of serpent, dim. of βασιλεύς, a king; so named from some prominences on the head resembling a crown; Pr. basilise, basilesce, Fr. basilic.] 1. A fabulous serpent, called a cockatrice, and said to be produced from a cock's egg brooded by a serpent. The ancients alleged that its hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal. Make me not sighted like the basilisk. Shak. 2. (Nat. Hist.) A genus of reptiles belonging to the family of iguanidae or lizards. Hooded Basilisk (Basiliscus mitratus). This genus is remarkable for a membranous bag of a triangular shape rising vertically above the occiput, which can be filled with air at pleasure; also for an elevated dentated crest along the back, that can be raised or depressed at will. Baird. 3. (Mil.) A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size. [Obs.]