bestiary
pronunciation
How to pronounce bestiary in British English:
UK [ˈbestɪəri]
How to pronounce bestiary in American English:
US [ˈberi]
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- Noun:
- a medieval book (usually illustrated) with allegorical and amusing descriptions of real and fabled animals
Word Origin
- bestiary (n.)
- "medieval treatise on beasts" usually with moralistic overtones, 1818, from Medieval Latin bestiarium "a menagerie," also "a book about animals", from bestia (see beast). A Latin term for such works was liber de bestiis compositus. Roman bestiarius meant "a fighter against beasts in the public entertainments."
Example
- 1. The animated bestiary : animals , cartoons , and culture .
- 2. From the " fantastic bestiary " I realized a big chameleon , like the dragon in legend in china .