cockatrice
cockatrice basilisk XIV; (her.) hybrid of cock and serpent XVI. — OF. cocatris — medL. calcātrix, cau- (fem. agent-noun f. calcāre tread, (later) track, f. calx heel) used to render Gr. ikhneúmōn, ICHNEUMON, lit, ‘tracker’. OF. cocatris came to denote the crocodile; by a further (obscure) transference cockatrice was applied in English translations of the Bible to the basilisk; assoc. with COCK 1 produced the her. sense.
cockatrice
cock·a·trice / ˈkäkətris; -ˌtrīs/ • n. another term for basilisk (sense 1). ∎ Heraldry a mythical animal depicted as a two-legged dragon (or wyvern) with a cock's head.
cockatrice
cockatrice a basilisk; in heraldry, a mythical animal depicted as a two-legged dragon (or wyvern) with a cock's head.
Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes via Old French from Latin calcatrix ‘tracker’ (from calcare ‘to tread or track’), translating Greek ikhneumōn ‘tracker’, see ichneumon.