Mythful Meanings

In the English language, many meanings come from myths. This blog considers many of those words.

Myths are stories people tell to explain the great mysteries of life, such as birth and death, why the sun rises and sets, and why the moon changes in a predictable pattern.

I decided to start over from the end of the alphabet and work toward the beginning. I have a stack of index cards with information typed on them, all in alphabetical order. When I started this blog, I started at A, because I didn't realize that all the entries would be pushed down.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Cockatrice

To the ancient Romans, a cockatrice was the same creature as the basilisk for ancient Greeks, a monster that was hatched from "a rooster's egg," and looked like a cock with a serpent's tail, and eight legs. In some stories, it had scales. Its stare was lethal, and it carried a deadly venom. It could be killed by showing it its reflection in a mirror.

English word: In English, cockatrice always refers to the same mythical monster.
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)