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.

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 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.

Cockatrice

Another name for the fabulous and deadly reptilian monster known as the basilisk.