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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
“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


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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of manticore1

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

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