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Dragon
A dragon is a large, serpent-like legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.
The earliest attested dragons resemble giant snakes. Dragon-like creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near East and appear in ancient Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Indo-European and Near Eastern mythologies. Famous prototypical dragons include the mušḫuššu of ancient Mesopotamia, Apep in Egyptian mythology, Vṛtra in the Rigveda, the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible, Python, Ladon, Wyvern, and the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology, Jörmungandr, Níðhöggr, and Fafnir in Norse mythology, and the dragon from Beowulf.
The popular western image of a dragon as winged, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire is an invention of the High Middle Ages based on a conflation of earlier dragons from different traditions. In western cultures, dragons are portrayed as monsters to be tamed or overcome, usually by saints or culture heroes, as in the popular legend of Saint George and the Dragon. They are often said to have ravenous appetites and to live in caves, where they hoard treasure. These dragons appear frequently in western fantasy literature, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.
The word “dragon” has also come to be applied to the Chinese lung (龍, Pinyin long), which are associated with good fortune and are thought to have power over rain. Dragons and their associations with rain are the source of the Chinese customs of dragon dancing and dragon boat racing. Many East Asian deities and demigods have dragons as their personal mounts or companions. Dragons were also identified with the Emperor of China, who, during later Chinese imperial history, was the only one permitted to have dragons on his house, clothing, or personal articles.
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Wyrm (noun)
A huge limbless and wingless serpent
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Wyrm (noun)
A vague term, but it usually refers to huge limbless and wingless serpents
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Wyrm (noun)
A sea serpent
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Dragon (noun)
A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature.
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Dragon (noun)
In Western mythology, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a serpent-like body, often a monster with fiery breath.
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Dragon (noun)
A heraldic representation of such a beast used as a charge or as a supporter; as in the arms of Wales.
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Dragon (noun)
An animal of various species that resemble a dragon in appearance:
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Dragon (noun)
In Eastern mythology, a large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent.
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Dragon (noun)
A very large snake; a python.
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Dragon (noun)
Any of various agamid lizards of the genera Draco, Physignathus or ver=161026.
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Dragon (noun)
The constellation Draco.
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Dragon (noun)
A fierce and unpleasant woman; a harridan.
“She’s a bit of a dragon.”
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Dragon (noun)
The (historical) Chinese empire or the People’s Republic of China.
“Napoleon already warned of the awakening of the Dragon.”
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Dragon (noun)
Something very formidable or dangerous.
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Dragon (noun)
A type of playing-tile (red dragon, green dragon, white dragon) in the game of mahjong.
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Dragon (noun)
A luminous exhalation from marshy ground, seeming to move through the air like a winged serpent.
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Dragon (noun)
A short musket hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier’s belt; so called from a representation of a dragon’s head at the muzzle.
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Dragon (noun)
A variety of carrier pigeon.
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Dragon (noun)
a transvestite man, or more broadly a male-to-female transgender person