basilisk
noun
- type of cannon
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈbæzɪlɪsk/ / /ˈbæsɪlɪsk/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos, literally “minor king or chieftain”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”), possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the 'deadly gaze' may have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance. The infohazard sense is a figurative reference to the deadly gaze of the mythical creature. Displaced native Old English fāgwyrm.
- Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.
“Well, She is so basilisk; there's no death in her eyes […]”
“her gaze became more basilisk in its expression, and her countenance bore some similitude to that of a handsome fiend”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos, literally “minor king or chieftain”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”), possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the 'deadly gaze' may have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance. The infohazard sense is a figurative reference to the deadly gaze of the mythical creature. Displaced native Old English fāgwyrm.
- A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze is deadly.
“the deadly look of the basilisk”
“The queſtion is in vvhat part of this Serpent the poyſon doth lye; Some ſay in the head alone, and that therefore the Bazeliske is deafe, bycauſe the Ayre vvhich ſerueth the Organe of hearing, is reſolued by the intenſiue calidity: but this ſeemeth not to bee true, […]”
- A type of dragon used in heraldry.
- Any tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.
“As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.”
- A type of large brass cannon.
“Awake ye men of Memphis, heare the clange / Of Scythian trumpets, heare the Baſiliſkes, / That roaring, ſhake Damaſcus turrets downe, […]”
- An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.
“A basilisk, in this context, is information that can hurt you simply because you are aware of it.”