basilisk
pronunciation
How to pronounce basilisk in British English:
UK [ˈbæzɪlɪsk]
How to pronounce basilisk in American English:
US [ ˈbæzɪlɪsk]
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- Noun:
- (classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance
- ancient brass cannon
- small crested arboreal lizard able to run on its hind legs; of tropical America
Word Origin
- basilisk
- basilisk: [14] Greek basilískos meant literally ‘little king’ – it was a diminutive of basiléus ‘king’, source also of English basil [15] (probably from the herb’s use by the Greeks in certain royal potions) and of English basilica [16] (a church built originally on the plan of a royal palace). The Greeks used it for a ‘goldcrested wren’, but also for a type of serpent, and it is this latter use which developed into the fabulous monster of classical and medieval times, whose breath and glance could kill. The name was said by Pliny to be based on the fact that the basilisk had a crown-shaped mark on its head.=> basil, basilica
- basilisk (n.)
- c. 1300, from Latin basiliscus, from Greek basiliskos "little king," diminutive of basileus "king" (see Basil); said by Pliny to have been so called because of a crest or spot on its head resembling a crown.The basilisk has since the fourteenth century been confused with the Cockatrice, and the subject is now a complicated one. [T.H. White, "The Bestiary. A Book of Beasts," 1954]Its breath and glance were said to be fatal. The South American lizard so called (1813) because it, like the mythical beast, has a crest. Also used of a type of large cannon, throwing shot of 200 lb., from 1540s.
Example
- 1. Why didn 't harry talk parseltongue to the basilisk ?
- 2. It 's a basilisk , they 're almost extinct .
- 3. The monster in the chamber of secrets is a basilisk .
- 4. Once its prey enters range , the basilisk switches to its petrifying gaze attack .
- 5. And so hermione granger , that charming grind , still goes to the hogwarts library and spends hours and hours working her way through the stacks , finding out what a basilisk is or how to make a love potion .