basilisk

Meanings

Noun

(classical mythology) a serpent (or lizard or dragon) able to kill with its breath or glance
ancient brass cannon
small crested arboreal lizard able to run on its hind legs; of tropical America
A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze is deadly.
An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.
A type of dragon used in heraldry.
Any of the tree-dwelling of lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.
A type of large brass cannon.

Adj

Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos) (literally "minor king or chieftain", possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the "deadly gaze" could have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”). The cognitohazard/infohazard sense is by analogy with the deadly gaze of the mythical creature.

Scrabble Score: 14

basilisk is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
basilisk is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
basilisk is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

basilisk is a valid Words With Friends word