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basilisk

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basilisk

Central and South American lizard, genus Basiliscus. It is about 50 cm/20 in long and weighs about 90 g/0.2 lb. Its rapid speed (more than 2 m/6.6 ft per second) and the formation of air pockets around the feet enable it to run short distances across the surface of water. The male has a well-developed crest on the head, body, and tail.

basilisk

In classical Greek and Roman mythology, a reptile whose gaze and breath were lethal. It was said to be hatched by a toad or serpent from the eggs of a cock, and to die if it saw its reflection.



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Art thou come, by chance, cruel basilisk of these mountains, to see if in thy presence blood will flow from the wounds of this wretched being thy cruelty has robbed of life; or is it to exult over the cruel work of thy humours that thou art come; or like another pitiless Nero to look down from that height upon the ruin of his Rome in embers; or in thy arrogance to trample on this ill-fated corpse, as the ungrateful daughter trampled on her father Tarquin's?
Don Quixote by Cervantes, Miguel View in context
The basilisk had a bad eye, and its glance was fatal.
The Devil's Dictionary by Bierce, Ambrose View in context
There is the country of the Amazons, and the country of the dwarfs, and the country of the fair but evil women who slay with beholding, like the basilisk.
The White Company by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan View in context
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