bestiary
/ˈbiːstiˌɛɹi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.27 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A collection of various beasts, depicted in art, literature, or the like.
noun
A list or guidebook of the monsters to be found in a roleplaying game.
Example Sentences
- "Back in the 60s, Robin Boyd told us how ugly Australian architecture was. As his valediction, he has left us a bestiary of ugly Australians."
- "This book is not actually a bestiary. It is what most people think a bestiary is—namely an assemblage of vividly imagined beasts who behave somewhat quirkily, bear only the vaguest application to real life, […]"
- "More commonly known to the English speaker as “Genie”; the “dijn” is a powerful demon in the bestiary of the Middle East, mistaken in this instance for the Buddha."
- "Later artworks showed many animals and gods, some of which were clearly identified with heavenly bodies. [...] Each shows a splendidly vivacious bestiary and pantheon, including the Sun-Moon-Venus symbols and a lion-versus-bull combat scene with an eagle or man-bull joining in."
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin bēstiārium, from Latin bēstia (“beast, animal”). By surface analysis, beast + -ary.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: bēstiārium, bēstia
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbiːstiˌɛɹi/