bestiary

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

/ ˈbɛs tʃiˌɛr i, ˈbis- /

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See 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.

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Origin of bestiary

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

OTHER WORDS FROM bestiary

bes·ti·a·rist

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

Words nearby bestiary

best girl, besti, bestial, bestiality, bestialize, bestiary, bestie, best in show, bestir, best man, best of breed

How to use bestiary in a sentence

The quantum spin liquid is the latest entry in that bestiary of cryptid states.
Physicists just gifted us ‘quantum spin liquid,’ a weird new state of matter|Rahul Rao|December 2, 2021|Popular-Science
The maps for US congressional and state legislative races often resemble electoral bestiaries, with bizarrely shaped districts emerging from wonky hybrids of counties, precincts, and census blocks.
Mathematicians are deploying algorithms to stop gerrymandering|Siobhan Roberts|August 12, 2021|MIT Technology Review
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
The author of the Bestiary was acquainted with one or both of these.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various

The medival bestiary was a book which sought to enunciate religious instruction by an appeal to the curiosity of credulous people.
Legends and Satires from Medival Literature|Various
Another Bestiary, of slightly later date, illuminated in the same manner.
Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867|William Dunn Macray
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

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

bestiary

Origin of bestiary

OTHER WORDS FROM bestiary

Words nearby bestiary

Words related to bestiary

How to use bestiary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bestiary