dragon
In medieval Norse and Germanic legends, dragons are often shown as guardians of treasure-hoards terrorizing the surrounding countryside; the dragon killed by Beowulf in his final battle is a typical example.
A dragon is the emblem of St George, St Margaret of Antioch, St Martha, St Sylvester (d. 335), Pope from 314 to 335, and the 6th-century Welsh-born St Armel, Breton abbot who is said to have captured a dragon and disposed of it by ordering it to plunge into the river below Mont-Saint-Armel.
Dragon is also used for any of (originally) four Asian countries, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which developed booming economies based on high-technology exports.
The word is recorded from Middle English (also denoting a large serpent), and comes via Old French and Latin from Greek drakōn ‘serpent’.
dragon boat a traditional type of Chinese rowing boat, decorated at the prow and stern with figures of the head and tail of a dragon, used in racing at an annual Spring festival, said to originate in ancient China.
Dragon Lady a domineering, powerful, or belligerent woman; from the name of a villainous Asian female character in the comic strip ‘Terry and the Pirates’, drawn by the American cartoonist Milton Caniff (1907–1988).
dragon ship a Viking longship ornamented with a beaked prow.
dragon's teeth the teeth of the dragon killed by Cadmus in Greek legend, which when sown in the ground sprouted up as armed men; the expression sow dragon's teeth, meaning take action that (perhaps unintentionally) brings trouble about, derives from this.
here be dragons alluding to a traditional indication of early map-makers that a region was unexplored and potentially dangerous.
See also chase the dragon.
Dragon
Dragon
A monster of enormous size, common to almost all countries. Descriptions of its appearance vary, but it is of reptilian nature, often red or green in color, sometimes with several heads that spew fire and vapors, and a large tail, not unlike some dinosaurs.
It is of enormous strength, but the ancients believed that it could be charmed by music, and the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece of Greek legend was soothed by the voice of Medea. In India at the time of Alexander the Great, a dragon was worshiped as a god, while in occult history it is the manifestation of hell.
The dragon, however, is best known in legendary history as the monster whose duty it is to provide the hero with opportunities of valor. There is a legend of St. George and the Dragon and also the dragon that was slain by Sir Lancelot, one of the knights of King Arthur 's Round Table.
In the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) the word tannin, commonly rendered "dragon" in older English translations, generally refers to a variety of animals such as crocodiles, jackals, and serpents, but occasionally to the dragon (Ezek. 29:3; 32:3). In Chapter 12 of the biblical book of Revelation, the dragon, a representation of the Evil One, is overcome by the archangel Michael.
The dragon became a symbol of great strength in the European Middle Ages. In the fifteenth century, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire founded the Order of the Dragon to unite Christian rulers against the incursions of the Turkish Muslims into the Balkans. Among those invested with the order was Prince Vlad of Wallachia (Romania). He assumed the name Vlad Dracul, dracul being the Romanian word for dragon. His son took the diminutive form of the name as Prince Vlad Dracula.
During the time of Henry VII (1457-1509), a coin was given to those who were cured of possession with one side featuring an angel standing with both feet on a dragon.
The idea of the dragon is perhaps evolved from the concept of the earth as a living being, a notion that gained currency from earthquakes and related phenomena.
dragon
drag·on / ˈdragən/ • n. 1. a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in the Far East it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens. ∎ derog. a fierce and intimidating person, esp. a woman.2. another term for flying dragon. ∎ see Komodo dragon.3. hist. (in the 16th and 17th centuries) a short musket carried on the belt of a soldier, esp. a mounted infantryman. ∎ a soldier armed with such a musket. Compare with dragoon.