cockatrice
Americannoun
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a legendary monster with a deadly glance, supposedly hatched by a serpent from the egg of a rooster, and commonly represented with the head, legs, and wings of a rooster and the body and tail of a serpent.
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(in the Bible) a venomous serpent.
noun
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a legendary monster, part snake and part cock, that could kill with a glance
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another name for basilisk
Etymology
Origin of cockatrice
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cocatrice, from Middle French cocatris, from Medieval Latin caucātrīces (plural), Latin calcātrīx (unattested), feminine of calcātor (unattested) ”tracker,” equivalent to calcā(re) “to tread,” verbal derivative of calx “heel” + -tor agent suffix; the Latin was a direct translation of Greek word ichneúmōn, having the same meaning. See -trix, -tor, ichneumon
Vocabulary lists containing cockatrice
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So then he made off through the back door of the town, and raced up the hill to tell the cockatrice and ask for his help.
From The Book of Dragons by H. Granville Fell
From the chalice a winged cockatrice is rising.
From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by James Parton
But the cockatrice grew red and strong and happy, and its comb grew scarlet, and its feathers glossy, and it lifted itself up and crowed "Cock-a-trice-a-doodle-doo!" very loudly and clearly.
From The Book of Dragons by H. Granville Fell
Here three demi-lions are conjoined with three sterns of antient ships—a composition compared with which the griffin, cockatrice, and every other hybrid of a herald’s imagination sinks into insignificance.
From The Curiosities of Heraldry by Mark Antony Lower
But 'the weaned child shall lay his hand on the cockatrice den.'
From The Crown of Wild Olive also Munera Pulveris; Pre-Raphaelitism; Aratra Pentelici; The Ethics of the Dust; Fiction, Fair and Foul; The Elements of Drawing by John Ruskin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
