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dragon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Dragon, dragón, and drag on

English

Wikimedia Commons has related media at:

Alternative forms

  • dwagon (pronunciation spelling)

Pronunciation

WOTD – 14 May 2007

Etymology 1

From Middle English dragoun, borrowed from Old French dragon, from Latin dracō(n), from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn, “a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon”), probably from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “I see clearly”). Mostly displaced Old English draca (whence modern drake)—from the same Latin source, as are Draco, dracone, and dragoon.

Noun

dragon (plural dragons)

  2. A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature.
    1. In European mythologies, 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.
      • 1632, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Henry Cryps, page 548:
        Medea for the loue of Iaſon, taught him how to tame the fire breathing braſſ feeted Bulls, and kill the mighty dragon that kept the golden fleece[.]
      • c. 1900, Edith Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons:
        But as every well-brought-up prince was expected to kill a dragon, and rescue a princess, the dragons grew fewer and fewer till it was often quite hard for a princess to find a dragon to be rescued from.
      • 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 41:
        Before daylight, when the dragon flew home to sleep, he had burned up the hall and even the throne of the Geatish king.
      • 1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 98:
        They pitched the dragon
        over the cliff-top, let tide's flow
        and backwash take the treasure-minder.
    2. In Eastern Asian mythologies, a large, snake-like monster with the eyes of a hare, the horns of a stag and the claws of a tiger, usually beneficent.
      • 1913, Sax Rohmer, chapter XIII, in The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu:
        These tapestries were magnificently figured with golden dragons; and as the serpentine bodies gleamed and shimmered in the increasing radiance, each dragon, I thought, intertwined its glittering coils more closely with those of another.
  3. An animal of various species that resemble a dragon in appearance:
    1. (obsolete) A very large snake; a python.
    2. Any of various agamid lizards of the genera Draco, Physignathus or Pogona.
    3. A Komodo dragon.
    4. A sea dragon.
  4. (astronomy, with definite article, often capitalized) The constellation Draco.
  5. (derogatory) A fierce and unpleasant woman; a harridan.
    She’s a bit of a dragon.
  6. (UK, slang, rare, derogatory) An unattractive woman.
  7. (with definite article, often capitalized) The (historical) Chinese empire or the People's Republic of China.
    Napoleon already warned of the awakening of the Dragon.
  8. (figurative) Something very formidable or dangerous.
  9. (mahjong) A class of playing tiles consisting of three types: white dragons, green dragons, and red dragons.
  10. A luminous exhalation from marshy ground, seeming to move through the air like a winged serpent.
  11. (military, weaponry, historical) A type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel with a flared muzzle, often hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt.
    Synonym: dragoon
    • 1886, Charles Gould, Mythical Monsters:
      our dragoons were so denominated because they were armed with dragons, that is, with short muskets, which spouted fire like dragons, and had the head of a dragon wrought upon their muzzle
  12. (computing, rare) A background process similar to a daemon.
    • 1995, Harley Hahn, The UNIX Companion, page 420:
      Daemons and Dragons. The print spooler is an example of a DAEMON, a program that executes in the background and provides a service […] Strictly speaking, a dragon is a daemon that is not invoked explicitly but is always there, waiting in the background […]
    • 2018, J. K. Petersen, Fiber Optics Illustrated Dictionary:
      Many of the postmaster functions are actually handled by computer software such as dragons and mailer daemons.
  13. A variety of carrier pigeon.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

Etymology 2

Derived from drag queen.

Noun

dragon (plural dragons)

  1. (slang) A man who does drag or crossdresses, or sometimes by extension a male-to-female transgender person.
    • May 2017 Michael Connelly shares excerpt from The Late Show
      Ballard felt her phone vibrate in her hand and turned away from the nurse. She saw a return text from Mendez. She read his answer out loud to Jenkins. “‘Ramona Ramone, dragon. Real name Ramón Gutierrez. Had him in here a couple weeks back. Priors longer than his pre-op dick.’ Nice way of putting it.” “Considering his own dimensions,” Jenkins said. Drag queens, cross-dressers, and transgenders were all generally referred to as dragons in vice. No distinctions were made. It wasn’t nice but it was accepted.
    • October 2017 Drag Star VIZIN is back with new single Blasting News
      My favorite part was probably the ‘de-dragging.’ Taking the Dragon off (that’s what I call her) is always my favorite. In all honesty, the entire experience was amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Being felt up by Michael Silas wasn’t bad either...
    • December 2017 Miss Lawrence as Miss Bruce, "Climax" Star episode 21
      Yes. Butt shots. Everybody can't afford lipo and fat transfers. Especially dragons. So if they want to pay me top dollar to pump their ass up that's what I'm gonna do, and you've benefited from it.

Further reading

Anagrams

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Danish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

dragon c (singular definite dragonen, plural indefinite dragoner)

  1. a dragoon (soldier of the mounted infantry)

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin dragon, from Arabic طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn), from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion).

Noun

dragon c (singular definite dragonen, plural indefinite dragoner)

  1. (archaic) tarragon
    Synonym: esdragon

References

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Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /draːˈɣɔn/
  • Hyphenation: dra‧gon
  • Rhymes: -ɔn

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French dragon, from Arabic طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn), from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion).

Noun

dragon m (uncountable)

  1. the edible Mediterranean herb Artemisia dracunculus (tarragon), used as a salad spice
  2. the plant Erysimum cheiranthoides
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French dragon.

Noun

dragon m (plural dragons, diminutive dragonnetje n)

  1. a (French) dragoon
Hypernyms

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French dragon, perhaps borrowed from Old Occitan dragon, from Latin dracō, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn). Doublet of drac.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dʁa.ɡɔ̃/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (France (Paris)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Toulouse)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Vosges)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Vosges)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Lyon)):(file)

Noun

dragon m (plural dragons, feminine dragonne)

  1. a dragon, creature or person
  2. a dragoon

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Albanian: dragun
  • → Armenian: դրագուն (dragun)
  • → Azerbaijani: draqun
  • → Bashkir: драгун (dragun)
  • → Belarusian: драгун (drahun)
  • → Breton: dragun
  • → Bulgarian: драгун (dragun)
  • → Catalan: dragon
  • → Cebuano: dragun
  • → Crimean Tatar: dragun
  • → Czech: dragoun
  • → Danish: dragon
  • → English: dragoon
  • → Esperanto: dragono
  • → Estonian: tragun
  • → Gagauz: dragun
  • → Georgian: დრაგუნი (draguni)
  • → German: Dragoner
  • → Greek: δραγόνος (dragónos)
  • → Hebrew: דרגון (dragún)
  • → Hungarian: dragonyos
  • → Icelandic: dragoní
  • → Ido: dragono
  • → Irish: dragún
  • → Japanese: ドラグーン (doragūn)
  • → Kazakh: драгун (dragun)
  • → Kyrgyz: драгун (dragun)
  • → Latvian: dragūns
  • → Lithuanian: dragūnas
  • → Macedonian: драгун (dragun)
  • → Mongolian: драгун (dragun)
  • → Norwegian: dragon
  • → Occitan: dragon
  • → Polish: dragon
  • → Romanian: dragon
  • → Russian: драгун (dragun)
  • → Carpathian Rusyn: драґун (dragun)
  • → Serbo-Croatian: dragun / драгун
  • → Slovak: dragún
  • → Slovene: dragonec
  • → Spanish: dragón
  • → Swedish: dragon
  • → Tagalog: dragun
  • → Tajik: драгун (dragun)
  • → Tatar: драгун (drağun)
  • → Turkish: dragon
  • → Turkmen: dragun
  • → Ukrainian: драгун (drahun)
  • → Uzbek: dragun
  • → Waray-Waray: dragun
  • → Welsh: dragŵn
  • → Zazaki: dragun

Further reading

Anagrams

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Middle English

Noun

dragon

  1. alternative form of dragoun
    • 1382, Wyclif's Bible, Daniel 14:26:
      Therfor Daniel took pitch, and talow, and heeris, and sethide togidere; and he made gobetis, and yaf in to the mouth of the dragun; and the dragun was al to-brokun.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1380-1399 — Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, The Parson's Tale
      For God seith thus by Moyses: they shul been wasted with hunger, and the briddes of helle shul devouren hem with bitter deeth, and the galle of the dragon shal been hire drynke, and the venym of the dragon hire morsels.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
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Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French dragon, from Latin dracō, dracōnem, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn).

Pronunciation

Noun

dragon m (plural dragons)

  1. (Jersey, Guernsey) dragon
  2. (Jersey, Guernsey, nautical) flying jib

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

dragon m (definite singular dragonen, indefinite plural dragoner, definite plural dragonene)

  1. a dragoon (soldier of the mounted infantry)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

dragon m (definite singular dragonen, indefinite plural dragonar, definite plural dragonane)

  1. a dragoon (soldier of the mounted infantry)

References

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dragēn.

Verb

dragon

  1. to behave
  2. to acquire

Inflection

Conjugation of dragon (weak class 2)
More information infinitive, indicative ...

Descendants

Further reading

  • “dragon”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Semi-learned term from Latin dracō, dracōnem, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn).

Noun

dragon oblique singular, m (oblique plural dragons, nominative singular dragons, nominative plural dragon)

  1. dragon (mythical animal)

Descendants

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Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin dracōnem, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn). Compare Old Spanish dragon.

Pronunciation

Noun

dragon m (plural dragons)

  1. dragon
    • 13th c., Afonso X, “Cantiga CLXXXIX”, in Cantigas de Santa Maria:
      Esta é como un ome que ya a Santa Maria de Salas achou un dragon na carreira e / mató-o, e el ficou gafo de poçon, e pois sãou-[o] Santa Maria. / Ben pode Santa Maria guarir de toda poçon, / pois madr' é do que trillou o basilisqu' e o dragon.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 13th c., Afonso X, “Cantiga CCXXXVIII”, in Cantigas de Santa Maria:
      Na vila. [E] os gollos ficaron todos enton / ant' aquel que da cada nos foi tirar do dragon; / e o jograr mal-andante cospiu e disse que non / vira gente tan baveca, e muy mal os dostou. / O que viltar quer a Virgen de que Deus carne fillou...
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 13th c., Afonso X, “Cantiga CCLXX”, in Cantigas de Santa Maria:
      Per Adan e per Eva fomos todos caer / en poder do diabo; mais quise-sse doer / de nos quen nos fezera, e vo-sse fazer / nov' Adan que britass' a cabega do dragon. / Todos con alegria cantand' e en bon son...
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

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Old Spanish

Etymology

From Latin dracōnem, accusative of dracō, from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn).

Pronunciation

Noun

dragon m (plural dragones)

  1. dragon
    • c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, f. 103r:
      Et eſto faz deſcẽdiẽdo ſobrella la uertud de fig̃a de om̃e cubierto duna ſauana. ⁊ cauallero ſobre un dragõ ⁊ teniẽdo en ſu mano dieſtra una lãça.
      And it does this when over it descends the virtue of the figure of a man covered with a sheet, and a knight riding a dragon with a spear in his right hand.
    • Idem, f. 118v.
      Et es de la manera de las piedras ſeelladas. que los antigos gardauan. / Et presta pora echar los dragones. ⁊ las ſirpientes. de los lugares.
      And it is akin to the sealed stones that the ancients kept. And it is good for expelling dragons and snakes from any place.

Descendants

Old Welsh

Polish

Romanian

Swedish

Tagalog

Welsh

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