manticore

[ man-ti-kawr, -kohr ]

noun

1. a legendary monster with a man's head, horns, a lion's body, and the tail of a dragon or, sometimes, a scorpion.

manticore

/ ˈmæntɪˌkɔː /

noun

1. a monster with a lion's body, a scorpion's tail, and a man's head with three rows of teeth. It roamed the jungles of India and, like the Sphinx, would ask travellers a riddle and kill them when they failed to answer it

Word History and Origins

Origin of manticore¹

1300–50; Middle English < Latin mantichōrās < Greek, erroneous reading for martichṓras < Iranian; compare Old Persian martiya- man, Avestan xvar- devour, Persian mardom-khar < man-eating; probably ultimately alluding to the tiger, once common in the Caspian Sea region

Word History and Origins

Origin of manticore¹

C21: from Latin manticora , from Greek mantichōrās , corruption of martichorās , from Persian mardkhora man-eater