Drāg'on1, n.
n. [Fr. & Sp. dragon, Fr. dragone, drac, It. dragone, drago, draco, Lat. draco, Gr. δράκων, probably from δέρκεσθαι, δρακεῖν, to look, so called from its terrible eyes; O. H. Ger. dracho, tracho, N. H. Ger. drache, D. draak, Sw. drake, Dan. drage.]
Sense 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.
Sense 2. A fierce, violent person. Johnson.
Sense 3. (Astron.) A constellation of the northern hemisphere figured as a dragon; Draco.
Sense 4. A luminous exhalation from marshy grounds, seeming to move through the air in the manner of a winged serpent. Shak.
Sense 5. A short musket hooked on to a swivel attached to a soldier’s belt;—so called from a representation of a dragon’s head at the muzzle. Fairholt.
Sense 6. (Zoöl.) A genus of reptiles in the East Indies, which, in consequence of an extension of the ribs, covered with a fringe-like arrangement of the skin, is enabled to glide through the air for short distances. The common species is the flying-lizard, Draco fimbriatus. Baird.
Sense 7. (Her.) An imaginary winged animal, sometimes borne as a charge in a coat of arms.
In Scripture the term dragon is used respecting large marine fishes or serpents, and also venomous land serpents. It is also applied 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 foot. Ps. xci. 13.
He laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Rev. xx. 2.
