basilisk
/ˈbæzɪlɪsk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.42 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.
noun
An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.
adj
Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.
Example Sentences
- "the deadly look of the basilisk"
- "The queſtion is in vvhat part of this Serpent the poyſon doth lye; Some ſay in the head alone, and that therefore the Bazeliske is deafe, bycauſe the Ayre vvhich ſerueth the Organe of hearing, is reſolued by the intenſiue calidity: but this ſeemeth not to bee true, […]"
- "And without more ado she […] fixed her wonderful eyes upon me - more deadly than any Basilisk's - and pierced me through and through with their beauty, and sent her light laugh ringing through the air like chimes of silver bells."
- "As a revolutionary act of prophecy in an age of political science, Wissenkunst is a unique and anarchic expression of freedom, and not a new and aspiring system of indoctrination. If Wissenkunst is itself turned into political apologetics, then the fabulous plumed serpent is turned into a monster, a basilisk."
- "As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards."
- "Awake ye men of Memphis, heare the clange / Of Scythian trumpets, heare the Baſiliſkes, / That roaring, ſhake Damaſcus turrets downe, […]"
Etymology
From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos, literally “minor king or chieftain”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”), possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the 'deadly gaze' may have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance. The infohazard sense is a figurative reference to the deadly gaze of the mythical creature. Displaced native Old English fāgwyrm.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: basilicke, basilique, basiliscus, βασιλίσκος