bestiary

[ bes-chee-er-ee, bees- ]

/ ˈbɛs tʃiˌɛr i, ˈbis- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bestiary ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural bes·ti·ar·ies.

a collection of moralized fables, especially as written in the Middle Ages, about actual or mythical animals.

Nearby words

bestest, besti, bestial, bestiality, bestialize, bestiary, bestie, bestir, bestow, bestraddle, bestrew

Origin of bestiary

1615–25; < Medieval Latin bēstiārium, neuter of Latin bēstiārius. See beast, -ary

Related forms

bes·ti·a·rist

[bes-chee-er-ist, -cher-, bees-] /ˈbɛs tʃi ər ɪst, -tʃər-, ˈbis-/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bestiary

This theme is found in the Physiologus, a 256 medieval bestiary.
Modern Spanish Lyrics|Various
For the structure of this verse, see p. 327; the following is a restoration and scansion of the passages in the Bestiary.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various
A Bestiary of the beginning of the thirteenth century, enriched with many very curious paintings upon a ground of brilliant gold.
Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867|William Dunn Macray
The author of the Bestiary was acquainted with one or both of these.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various

Bestiary, a name given to a class of books treating of animals, viewed allegorically.
The Nuttall Encyclopaedia|Edited by Rev. James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for bestiary

bestiary

/ (ˈbɛstɪərɪ) /

noun plural -aries

a moralizing medieval collection of descriptions (and often illustrations) of real and mythical animals

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012