Glossary of Dragon Terms

74 words for dragons, their relatives, and the lore around them.

Dragon lore has a vocabulary all its own, borrowed from Greek, Old English, Norse, Chinese, Sanskrit, and the language of heraldry. Each term below links to a fuller article or encyclopedia entry where there is one.

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P R S T W Y Z

A

Aarne–Thompson–Uther index (ATU index, tale type index): The Aarne–Thompson–Uther index is a catalog that sorts the world's folktales into numbered tale types. Begun by Antti Aarne in 1910, expanded by Stith Thompson, and revised by Hans-Jörg Uther in 2004, it lets folklorists compare dragon stories such as ATU 300, "The Dragon-Slayer." More
Amphiptere (amphithere, amphitere): An amphiptere is a winged serpent of European heraldry, usually shown with a snake's body, a pair of wings, and no legs. Its name is usually explained as meaning "two-winged." It is rare in real coats of arms but often appears in modern lists of dragon types. More
Amphisbaena: An amphisbaena is a serpent from Greek and Roman lore with a head at each end of its body, so it can travel in either direction. The Roman poet Lucan wrote that it sprang from the blood of Medusa. Its name comes from Greek words meaning "going both ways." More
ATU 300 (The Dragon-Slayer) (The Dragon-Slayer tale type): ATU 300, "The Dragon-Slayer," is the folktale type in which a hero kills a dragon to save a princess who is about to be sacrificed to it. An impostor often claims the credit, and the hero proves his deed by producing the dragon's tongues, which he cut out. More
ATU 433B (King Lindorm) (King Lindorm tale type): ATU 433B, "King Lindorm," is the folktale type in which a queen gives birth to a serpent son, a lindworm, who devours his brides until a clever young woman breaks the spell and he becomes a man. It is best known from Scandinavian versions. More

B

Basilisk: A basilisk is a legendary serpent said to kill with its glance or breath. Pliny the Elder described it as a small snake with a crown-like white mark on its head; later medieval writers gave it a rooster's features. Its name comes from Greek basiliskos, "little king." More
Bestiary: A bestiary is a medieval book describing real and imaginary animals, each paired with a Christian moral lesson. Bestiaries were especially popular in England in the 12th and 13th centuries. Their dragon is the largest of all serpents and kills elephants by coiling around them. More
Breath weapon: A breath weapon is a destructive blast a creature exhales, such as fire, frost, lightning, acid, or poison gas. Fire-breathing is common in European dragon lore, while the phrase "breath weapon" itself is a game term made famous by Dungeons & Dragons, where each kind of dragon has its own. More

C

Chaoskampf (combat myth): Chaoskampf is the scholarly name for myths in which a storm or sky god defeats a sea serpent or dragon representing chaos, as Marduk defeats Tiamat and Baal defeats Yam. The German term, meaning "struggle against chaos," was popularized by the Bible scholar Hermann Gunkel in 1895. More
Chimera (chimaera): The Chimera is a fire-breathing monster of Greek myth, usually shown as a lion with a goat's head rising from its back and a serpent for a tail. The hero Bellerophon killed it while riding Pegasus. Today "chimera" also means any creature made of mismatched parts. More
Chromatic dragon: A chromatic dragon is one of the evil, colored dragons of the game Dungeons & Dragons: red, blue, green, black, and white. Each color has its own breath weapon and favored lair, and they are traditionally ruled by the five-headed goddess Tiamat. The term is a gaming term, not a mythological one. More
Cockatrice: A cockatrice is a legendary monster with the head, legs, and wings of a rooster and the tail of a serpent. Medieval lore said it hatched from an egg laid by a rooster and kept warm by a toad or snake, and that its glance could kill. It is a familiar figure in heraldry. More
Couatl: A couatl is a winged, feathered serpent in the game Dungeons & Dragons, a wise and good celestial being that has appeared since the game's early editions. It is inspired by the Mesoamerican feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, and its name comes from Nahuatl cōātl, "snake." More

D

Draca: Draca is the Old English word for a dragon, borrowed early from Latin draco. It appears in Beowulf, which also calls its dragon a wyrm, and it later became the Middle English word drake. More
Draco: Draco is the Latin word for a dragon or large serpent, borrowed from Greek drakōn. It is the source of the English word "dragon" and also names a large northern constellation, which the Greeks linked to Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. More
Draco standard (dragon standard): The draco standard was a military banner shaped like a dragon, with a metal head and a cloth tube for a body that streamed and hissed in the wind. Roman cavalry adopted it from steppe peoples such as the Sarmatians, and the Greek writer Arrian described it in the 2nd century AD. More
Dracolich: A dracolich is an undead dragon in the game Dungeons & Dragons: a dragon that has used dark magic to survive death as a skeletal, lich-like monster. Dracoliches are especially associated with the Forgotten Realms setting and its Cult of the Dragon. More
Draconic: Draconic means having to do with dragons or resembling a dragon. It is different from "draconian," meaning harsh, which comes from Draco, an Athenian lawmaker known for severe laws. In Dungeons & Dragons, Draconic is also the name of the dragons' own language. More
Dracontias (draconites, dragonstone): Dracontias is a legendary gemstone said to grow in a dragon's brain. Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History that it becomes a gem only if cut from a living dragon, so hunters were said to put the dragon to sleep with herbs before taking it. More
Dragon: A dragon is a large, serpent-like legendary creature found in the myths of many cultures. European dragons are often winged, fire-breathing, and hostile, while East Asian dragons are usually wingless, wise, and linked to water and rain. The word comes through Latin draco from Greek drakōn. More
Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival): The Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese holiday held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, celebrated with races in long boats carved with dragon heads and tails. Tradition links it to the poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in a river, and people eat sticky-rice dumplings called zongzi. More
Dragon bones (longgu): Dragon bones are fossil bones and teeth sold as medicine in China, where they are called longgu. Most are the remains of ancient mammals such as extinct horses. In 1935 the scientist Ralph von Koenigswald identified the giant ape Gigantopithecus from a tooth bought in a Hong Kong drugstore. More
Dragon Gate (Longmen): The Dragon Gate is a legendary waterfall on China's Yellow River. According to a famous story, any carp that manages to leap over it turns into a dragon. The image became a symbol of success through hard effort, especially for scholars who passed the imperial examinations. More
Dragon King (Longwang): A Dragon King is a Chinese water deity who rules a sea, river, or lake from an underwater palace and controls the rain. Popular religion often names four Dragon Kings, one for each of the four seas, and villagers once prayed at their temples during droughts. More
Dragon passant: Dragon passant is a heraldic term for a dragon shown in side view, walking, with one front foot raised and the other three on the ground. Passant comes from the Old French for "striding." The red dragon on the flag of Wales is a dragon passant. More
Dragon rampant: Dragon rampant is a heraldic term for a dragon rearing up on one or both hind legs with its front legs raised, as if attacking. When a winged beast such as a dragon or griffin takes this pose with its wings raised, heralds often call it segreant instead. More
Dragon-slayer motif (dragon-slaying myth): The dragon-slayer motif is the recurring story pattern in which a hero or god kills a dragon or giant serpent, often to free water, treasure, or a captive. Examples include Indra and Vritra, Sigurd and Fáfnir, Beowulf, and Saint George. Scholars trace some versions to a shared Indo-European myth. More
Dragon's blood: Dragon's blood is a deep red resin taken from certain plants, including dragon trees (Dracaena) of the Canary Islands and Socotra and some rattan palms. It has long been used as a dye, varnish, and medicine. Pliny the Elder recorded a belief that a red pigment was the mingled blood of a dragon and an elephant. More
Dragon's teeth: Dragon's teeth, in Greek myth, are the teeth of a slain dragon that sprout into armed warriors when planted. Cadmus sowed the teeth of the dragon he killed at Thebes, and Jason faced the same trial in Colchis. To "sow dragon's teeth" now means to do something that breeds future conflict. More
Dragonborn: Dragonborn are a race of humanlike dragon people in the game Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in a 2006 supplement and made a core player race in 2008. Separately, "the Dragonborn" is the hero of the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), a mortal with a dragon's soul. More
Dragonet: A dragonet is a small or young dragon. The word entered English from French in the Middle Ages. Today it is also the name of a family of small, often brightly colored fishes that live on the sea floor. More
Drake: Drake is an old English word for a dragon, from Old English draca and ultimately Latin draco. It is unrelated to drake meaning a male duck. In modern fantasy fiction and games, a drake is often a smaller, less intelligent dragon, sometimes without wings. More
Drakōn (drakon): Drakōn is the ancient Greek word for a large serpent or dragon, used for monsters such as Python and Ladon. It is the root of Latin draco and English "dragon." Etymologists usually connect it with a Greek verb meaning "to see clearly," though the link is not certain. More

F

Feathered serpent (Quetzalcoatl, Kukulkan, Q'uq'umatz): A feathered serpent is a sacred Mesoamerican being, a serpent covered in the green feathers of the quetzal bird. The Aztecs called it Quetzalcoatl, the Yucatec Maya Kukulkan, and the K'iche' Maya Q'uq'umatz. One of its earliest great monuments is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan. More
Firedrake (fire-drake): A firedrake is a fire-breathing dragon. The word comes from Old English fȳrdraca, "fire dragon," which Beowulf uses for the treasure-guarding dragon that gives the old hero his death wound. More

G

Great wyrm (greatwyrm): A great wyrm is the oldest and most powerful age stage of a dragon in some editions of the game Dungeons & Dragons, ranking above ancient and wyrm. The term is a gaming invention built on the Old English word wyrm. More
Guivre (givre, vouivre, wivre): A guivre is a serpent-like dragon of medieval French folklore, with a long body, a dragon's head, and little or no legs, said to haunt pools, rivers, and forests. Like the wyvern, its name comes from Latin vipera, "viper." Legend held that it turned away in embarrassment from naked people. More

H

Hic sunt dracones (here be dragons): Hic sunt dracones is Latin for "here are dragons." It is written on the Hunt–Lenox Globe, made in the early 1500s, near the eastern coast of Asia, and that globe is the only known map to use it. The English form, "here be dragons," now means unexplored or risky territory. More
Hoard: A hoard is the heap of treasure a dragon gathers and guards, usually in a cave or burial mound. The idea is old in Germanic lore: the dragon in Beowulf guards a buried hoard, and Fáfnir turned into a dragon to keep his gold. The word comes from Old English hord. More
Horned serpent: A horned serpent is a powerful horned snake found in the traditions of many Native American peoples, usually tied to water, rain, and the underworld. The Cherokee Uktena, said to carry a shining crystal on its forehead, is one of the best-known examples. More
Hydra: A hydra is a many-headed water serpent. The best known is the Lernaean Hydra of Greek myth, killed by Heracles as his second labor; when he cut off one head, two grew back until his nephew Iolaus burned the stumps. "Hydra" now also names any problem that multiplies when attacked. More

I

Imugi: An imugi is a great serpent in Korean folklore that has not yet become a dragon. Legends say it can turn into a true dragon, or yong, after living a thousand years or by catching a magic jewel, the yeouiju, as it falls from heaven. More

J

Jiaolong (jiao): A jiaolong is a Chinese water dragon, often described as scaled and hornless, that lives in rivers, lakes, and floods. Classical writers sometimes treated it as a lesser or not-yet-mature dragon, and unlike the rain-bringing celestial dragons it could be dangerous to people. More

K

Knucker: A knucker is a water dragon of Sussex folklore in southern England, said to live in deep pools called knucker holes. The most famous lived at Lyminster, where a local hero killed it. The name is usually traced to Old English nicor, "water monster," a word used in Beowulf. More
Kobold: A kobold is a household or mine spirit in German folklore; the metal cobalt is named after it. In the game Dungeons & Dragons, kobolds are small, scaly humanoids who regard dragons as their kin and often serve them, a dragon link the game added in its third edition. More

L

Leviathan: Leviathan is a great sea serpent or dragon in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Job describes it as a fire-breathing beast no one can tame, and Isaiah calls it a twisting serpent that God will slay. It echoes older Canaanite myths of Lotan, a sea monster defeated by Baal. More
Lindworm (lindwurm, lindorm, linnorm): A lindworm is a serpentine dragon of Scandinavian and German folklore, usually wingless and with two front legs or none. The name comes from Old Norse linnormr and German Lindwurm, which combine two words that both mean serpent. In heraldry, a lindworm is essentially a wyvern without wings. More
Lóng (lung, loong, lóng): Lóng (龍) is the Chinese word for dragon. A lóng is usually a long, scaly, wingless creature with antlers, whiskers, and four clawed legs, linked to water, rain, and good fortune. For many centuries it was also the symbol of the emperor's power. More

M

Makara: A makara is a sea creature of Hindu and Buddhist art that combines features such as a crocodile's jaws, an elephant's trunk, and a fish's tail. It is the mount of the river goddess Ganga and the sea god Varuna, and it guards temple gateways across South and Southeast Asia. More
Metallic dragon: A metallic dragon is one of the good dragons of the game Dungeons & Dragons: gold, silver, bronze, brass, and copper. They are the counterparts of the evil chromatic dragons and are traditionally led by the platinum dragon god Bahamut. Like "chromatic," the term is a gaming term. More
Mušḫuššu (mushhushshu, sirrush): A mušḫuššu is a dragon-like hybrid of ancient Mesopotamia with a scaly body, horns, a serpent's head and tongue, lion's forelegs, and eagle's hind feet. It was the sacred animal of the god Marduk and appears in glazed brick on Babylon's Ishtar Gate. Its name is often translated "reddish snake." More

N

Nāga (naga): A nāga is a divine or semi-divine serpent in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain tradition, often shown as a cobra or as part human. Nāgas guard waters and treasure; in one Buddhist story the nāga king Mucalinda shelters the meditating Buddha with his hood. The Sanskrit word means "serpent." More
Nine resemblances: The nine resemblances are a classic Chinese description of the dragon, attributed to the Han-dynasty scholar Wang Fu. It says the dragon has the horns of a stag, the head of a camel, the neck of a snake, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, and the soles of a tiger, among other traits. More
Nine sons of the dragon: The nine sons of the dragon are nine creatures named in Chinese lore as a dragon's offspring, each with its own nature and place in art and architecture, such as the turtle-like bixi that carries stone tablets. Lists of them first appear in Ming-dynasty writings, and the names vary. More

O

Ouroboros (uroboros): An ouroboros is a serpent or dragon biting its own tail to form a circle, a symbol of eternity and endless renewal. The image appears in ancient Egypt, including on a shrine from Tutankhamun's tomb, and later became an emblem of alchemy. Its name is Greek for "tail-devourer." More

P

Pearl of wisdom (flaming pearl, dragon pearl): The pearl of wisdom is the glowing pearl often shown with Chinese dragons, held in a claw, tucked beneath the chin, or chased by two dragons at once. It is associated with wisdom, spiritual energy, prosperity, power, and the moon. More
Pendragon: Pendragon is a Welsh title meaning "chief dragon" or "chief warrior," from pen, "head," and dragon, a poetic word for a war leader. It is best known as the name of King Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (about 1136). More
Physiologus: The Physiologus is an early Christian Greek text, probably written in Alexandria between the 2nd and 4th centuries, that draws moral lessons from animals, real and imaginary. Translated into many languages, it became the main source for the medieval bestiaries and their dragons. More

R

Rainbow Serpent: The Rainbow Serpent is a great creator serpent in the Dreaming stories of many Aboriginal Australian peoples, associated with water, rain, and the shaping of the land. Each community has its own names and stories; the English term was coined by anthropologists in the 1920s. More
Ryū (ryu, tatsu): Ryū is the Japanese word for dragon, also read tatsu. Japanese dragons came largely from Chinese tradition and are usually wingless, serpentine water spirits linked to rain, rivers, and the sea. The sea god Ryūjin rules from a palace beneath the ocean. More

S

Sea serpent: A sea serpent is a huge snake-like creature reported in sailors' tales and folklore. Olaus Magnus pictured one attacking a ship in his 1555 history of the Nordic peoples, and officers of HMS Daedalus reported a sighting in 1848. Real animals such as oarfish may explain some reports. More
Segreant: Segreant is a heraldic term for a winged beast, usually a griffin or a dragon, rearing on its hind legs with its forelegs raised and its wings lifted and spread. It is the winged creature's version of rampant. More
Sejant: Sejant is a heraldic term for a beast sitting upright on its haunches. Lions, griffins, dragons, and wyverns can all be blazoned sejant, as in "a wyvern sejant." The word comes from Middle French for "sitting." More
Smok: A smok is a dragon in Polish folklore. The most famous is the Wawel Dragon, which lived in a cave beneath Wawel Hill in Kraków until it was tricked into eating a sheep stuffed with sulfur. More

T

Taniwha: A taniwha is a powerful being in Māori tradition that lives in rivers, lakes, the sea, or caves. Taniwha may be protective guardians of a tribe or dangerous monsters, and they are often described as reptilian, like a giant lizard or serpent, though some take the form of sharks. More
Tannin (tanninim): Tannin is a Hebrew word for a sea monster, dragon, or large serpent used in the Bible; its plural, tanninim, names the "great sea creatures" of Genesis. Older English Bibles often translated it as "dragon" or "whale." A related sea monster appears in Canaanite texts from Ugarit. More

W

Worm: Worm is an old English word for a dragon or great serpent, used especially in the folklore of northern England and Scotland, as in the Lambton Worm and the Laidly Worm. It comes from Old English wyrm, which once covered snakes and dragons as well as earthworms. More
Wyrm: Wyrm is the Old English word for a serpent, dragon, or worm, related to Latin vermis. Beowulf often calls its dragon a wyrm. Modern fantasy revived the old spelling for great dragons, and in Dungeons & Dragons "wyrm" also names a very old dragon age category. More
Wyrmling: A wyrmling is a newly hatched or very young dragon. The term is best known from the game Dungeons & Dragons, where it names the youngest age category of dragons, before young, adult, and ancient. More
Wyvern (wivern, wyver): A wyvern is a dragon-like creature with two legs, a pair of wings, and usually a barbed tail. It is common in British heraldry and in modern fantasy games. The name comes from Middle English wyver, from Old French wivre and Latin vipera, "viper." More

Y

Y Ddraig Goch (Red Dragon of Wales, Welsh dragon): Y Ddraig Goch, Welsh for "the red dragon," is the national emblem of Wales, shown on a green and white field on the Welsh flag, officially recognized in 1959. In legend, a red dragon standing for the Britons defeats a white dragon standing for the Saxons beneath Vortigern's fortress. More
Yong: Yong (용) is the Korean word for dragon. Korean dragons are usually wingless, serpent-like water spirits that bring rain and protect the nation, and they are often shown holding a magic jewel called the yeouiju. The old native Korean word for dragon is mireu. More

Z

Zmaj: A zmaj is a dragon in South Slavic folklore, especially among Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Unlike many European dragons, the zmaj is often a protector who defends crops against destructive storm demons, and some legendary heroes were said to be its sons. More
Zmey (zmei, zmiy): A zmey is a dragon of Russian and other East Slavic folklore, often with three or more heads and able to breathe fire. The best known is Zmey Gorynych, who fights the hero Dobrynya Nikitich in Russian epic songs. The word is related to Slavic words for "snake." More