BASILISK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does basilisk mean? 

• BASILISK (noun)
  The noun BASILISK has 3 senses:

1. (classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance

2. ancient brass cannon

3. small crested arboreal lizard able to run on its hind legs; of tropical America

  Familiarity information: BASILISK used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BASILISK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("basilisk" is a kind of...):

mythical creature; mythical monster (a monster renowned in folklore and myth)

Domain category:

classical mythology (the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ancient brass cannon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("basilisk" is a kind of...):

cannon (a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Small crested arboreal lizard able to run on its hind legs; of tropical America

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("basilisk" is a kind of...):

iguanid; iguanid lizard (lizards of the New World and Madagascar and some Pacific islands; typically having a long tail and bright throat patch in males)

Holonyms ("basilisk" is a member of...):

Basiliscus; genus Basiliscus (a reptile genus of Iguanidae)

 Context examples 

There is the country of the Amazons, and the country of the dwarfs, and the country of the fair but evil women who slay with beholding, like the basilisk.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But as I did so the head turned, and the eyes fell full upon me, with all their blaze of basilisk horror.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)