| 词汇 | basilisk |
| 词源 | basilisk. This is another name for the legendary cockatrice. The two names seem to have been interchangeable, and the same myths applied to both beasts. Just to look in the basilisk’s eyes was enough to kill a person, and the serpent hatched from a cock’s egg had breath so fiery that it killed off all vegetation. The basilisk took its name from the Greek basiliskos, “little king,” in reference to the cock’s crest on its head that resembled a crown; the mythical creature had a cock’s head, a dragon’s tail and bird’s wings. The monster’s killing glance led to the use of basilisk for a wanton woman, who you never looked at while making love, and the term “cockatrice” for a prostitute or whore. Today basilisk is the name of a real South American liz- ard, a harmless two-foot-long creature that has a crest on its head. |
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