dragon

[ drag-uhn ]

noun

1. a mythical monster generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire.
2. Archaic. a huge serpent or snake.
3. Bible. a large animal, possibly a large snake or crocodile.
4. the dragon, Satan.
5. a fierce, violent person.
6. a very watchful and strict woman; duenna.
7. flying dragon.
8. Botany. any of several araceous plants, as Arisaema dracontium green dragon, or dragonroot, the flowers of which have a long, slender spadix and a green, shorter spathe.
9. a short musket carried by a mounted infantryman in the 16th and 17th centuries.
10. a soldier armed with such a musket. dragoon ( defs 1, 2, 3 ).
11. Dragon, Astronomy. the constellation Draco.

dragon

/ ˈdræɡən /

noun

1. a mythical monster usually represented as breathing fire and having a scaly reptilian body, wings, claws, and a long tail
2. informal.
   a fierce or intractable person, esp a woman
3. any of various very large lizards, esp the Komodo dragon
4. any of various North American aroid plants, esp the green dragon
5. Christianity a manifestation of Satan or an attendant devil
6. a yacht of the International Dragon Class, 8.88m long (29.2 feet), used in racing
7. chase the dragon slang.
   to smoke opium or heroin

Derived Forms

• ˈdragonish, adjective
• ˈdragoness, noun:feminine

Other Words From

• drag·on·ish adjective
• drag·on·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragon¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dracōn- (stem of dracō ), from Greek drákōn the name of a kind of serpent, probably originally an epithet, “the (sharp-)sighted one,” akin to dérkesthai “to look”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragon¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin dracō, from Greek drakōn; related to drakos eye

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. chase the dragon, Slang. to inhale the vapor of heated heroin or another opiate drug.

Example Sentences

A facile “Prophecy” reader might joke that the channel is substituting spaceships for dragons.

From Salon

The wind is bitterly cold and the mini dragon roller-coaster and merry-go-round we are looking at both stand empty and still.

From BBC

Jay also "enjoyed fishing and rabbiting with his dad" and helped looking after the family pets, which included lurchers, ferrets and a bearded dragon.

From BBC

On Monday, as the blast furnaces were being shut down for the last time, Tata steelworker Cassius Walker-Hunt labelled the moment as the "the dragon's final breath".

From BBC

“I am so proud of my little plum, my little dragon for making the journey to be with us. My heart has exploded,” she wrote.

From Los Angeles Times