1: archaic: a huge serpent
2: a fabulous animal generally represented as a monstrous winged and
scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws
3: a: the heraldic representation of a monster with a griffin's head, a
scaly winged body with four legs and claws, and a long barbed tail
and tongue borne as a charge or used as a supporter
b dial Brit: a paper kite of dragon form
c: a beneficent supernatural creature in Chinese mythology connected
with rain and floods
4: a violent, combative, or very strict person; esp: a woman that watches
fiercely and vigilantly over the welfare of her charges
5: any of several arums popularly associated with dragons: as
a: GREEN DRAGON
b: JACK-lN-THE-PULPIT 1
c: WATER ARUM
d: a plant of the genus Dracontium
6: a: a short musket formerly carried hooked to a soldier's belt; also:
a soldier carrying such a musket
b: an armored tractor for artillery
7: [trans. of NL Draco]
a: any of numerous small brilliantly colored arboreal agamid lizards
(genus Draco) of the East Indies and southern Asia having five or
six of the hind ribs on each side prolonged and covered with a web
of skin forming a sort of wing and aiding them in making long
gliding leaps from tree to tree Q called also flying dragon
b: any of certain other lizards of related genera: as
(1): JEW LIZARD
(2): WATER DRAGON 1
Do dragon exist?
Yes, they actually do, but not in the historical/mythical from that
most individuals are familiar with. There are several lizards that bare
the name dragon, the best known being the Komodo Dragon. Dragons also
exist in symbolisms, history and the largest free roaming habitat of all,
the imagination.
Where does the legend of dragons hoarding gold originate from?
The Legion of dragons hoarding gold originally came from an Italian
religion that worshiped the god Cernunnos, the horned lord of the
underworld. He was the guardian of wealth, commerce and health. Cernunnos
was often accompanied by his horned dragon who was also associated by
wealth, especially that found underground.In another source it is stated
that gold is the only thing soft enough for them that they won't accidently
destroy it(example=asid,flame etc.. while sleeping.
Spelling of dragon in other languages?
The first meanings listed are probably the closest to the
"mythical" meaning of dragon. No accents or special characters are shown
due to keyboard accent marks vary in location from computer to computer.
African: nrgwenya
Chinese: lung
Dansk: drage
Dutch: draak
English: dragon
Middle English: dragun, dragoun
Faeroese: eitt dreki, eitt flogdreki, ein fraenarormur
Finnish: Lohikaarme, (iso-latin) Lohikiirme
French: dragon
Old French: dragun, dragon
German: Drache (pl. Drachen), Lindwurm (pl. Lindwuermer)
Maybe: tracho, dracho
Greak: drakon serpent, drako
Hawaiian: Kelekona, (plural) Na Kelekona
Hebrew: drakon (plural) drakonim
Hungarian: Sarkany
Icelandic: dreki
Islamic: Th'uban, Tinnin
Italian: drago, dragone, volante, dragonessa
Japanese: ryu, tatsu
Latin: draco, serpens, dracon, draco serpent, dragon
Malay: Naga
Norse: ormr
Norsk: drake, dragonet, liten drake
Norwegian: drake
Polish: smok
Portaguese: dragao
Roman: draco
Romanian: dracul
Russsian: drakon (roughly translated, stress on KON)
Sevnsk: drake, draken
Spanish: dragon
Swedish: drake, lindorm
Welsh: draig
What are some of the creatures related to dragons?
There are a number of creatures similar to dragons that sometimes
get thrown into the category of "dragon" but also have a category of their
own.
Amphisbaena
: A creature with heads at each end of its body that is capable
of moving in two directions.
Basilisk
: A lizard like creature that can kill with a glance, has
nasty breath.
Cockatrice
: Often looks similar to a rooster with a lizards tail. Said to
be a serpent that has hatched from a chicken's egg. Has a
deadly glance.
Chimera
: Fire breathing creature, with a lion's head, goat's body and
serpent's tail. Sometimes also depicted with 3 heads: a goat,
lion, and dragon. May have wings.
Quetzelcoatl
: the name of a South American Indian god. He was believed
to sometimes take the shape of a winged serpent.
Griffin
: Creature with the head, forelegs, and wings of an eagle and the
body, hindlegs, and tail of a lion.
Hydra
: A many-headed serpent, often portrayed with the body of a
dragon.
Manticore
: Creature with the head of a man, body of a lion and tail of
a dragon or scorpion. Often has wings.
Salamander
: Lizard-like creature that has the ability to endure fire.
Wyvern
: Very similar to a dragon except it only has four limbs
(2 wings, 2 hind legs) Usually in all other aspects, it is
similar to a dragon. They are generally not characterized as
breathing flame, but some do.
Common types of Dragons
Komodo Dragon
The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard found on Komodo Island,
part of Indonesia in the Indian Ocean. They have long sharp claws,
greenish-black hide, forked tongues (used for smelling), and a hinged jaw
like that of a snake. They are solitary animals but will group around
a carcass to try and get a portion of a kill.
During the mating season the male Komodo will make a kill and let the
female eat from the carcass. After mating, the female goes off and digs a
den in which to lay her eggs. The female lays around seven eggs. She will
stay and protect them for several weeks, but will eventually wander off
before they hatch. The eggs hatch around April and the little Komodos are
20 inches long and golden in color. They climb up in trees and stay for
several years until they grow larger. They start coming down to the
ground when they are around 3 feet long. They dig dens near riverbanks
and slopes with an opening only large enough for them to fit in, and
stay there during the night for protection from the elements and
other larger Komodos. They sometimes have two or more dens for
convenience during the wet and dry seasons when the rivers rise. Older
komodos are 9 feet long or longer and weigh around 200 pounds.
Komodo dragons are natural swimmers and use their large tails to propel
them through the water. They can also dive beneath the water and hold their
breath for a long time.
Eastern Dragons
Chinese dragons have four legs and a long, sinuous body with a snake-
like tail. Their horns resemble those of a stag, head like that of
a camel, eyes resemble those of a demon or a rabbit (because they glow red),
neck of a snake, belly of a clam, scales like those of a carp, claws of an
eagle, the paws of a tiger, and ears like those of a bull. They have 81
scales and can be black, red, white or yellow (considered superior). They
have a great pearl which they carry in their throats which symbolizes wisdom.
Male dragons have undulating, concave and steep horns. Female dragons
have straight noses, round manes, thin scales and a strong tail. Most
dragons lay their eggs near water. Eggs may take 1000 years to hatch. When
they do, water will run from the eggs and the parents will cry out. The
cry of the male makes the wind rise, while the cry of the female makes the
wind calm. This has a tendency to destabilize local climactic conditions,
resulting in darkness and torrential rain, with lightning and thunder
causing the eggs to break open. They take 500 years to turn into a Kiao
(scaled dragon), 1000 more years to become a lung (a proper dragon), 500
more to become a kioh-lung (horned dragon), and a further 1000 years to
become a ying-lung (winged dragon).
In China dragons are classified according to their purposes. There are
four major kinds of Chinese dragon: the t'ien lung, (celestial guardians)
who support the mansion of the gods shielding them from decay; the
shen lung (weathermakers) who govern the clouds and bring rain; the ti lung
(earth-dragon) who control rivers; and the fu-ts'ang lung (treasure keepers)
who guard hidden treasures and deposits of precious metal.
Chinese dragons were said to be present at creation and thus share the
characteristics and some control of the cosmos and elements. The dragons of
China were patron divinities of rivers, lakes and the sea. If pleased they
would give rain, but if displeased they could withhold rain or cause storms
and floods.
Celestial dragons have five claws. Lesser dragons have three or four.
They can shape-change except when being born, sleeping, lustful or angry.
Dragons are said to like precious stones and roasted swallows but to be
afraid of the leaves of the wang plant, leaves of the lien tree, quintuple
colored silk thread, wax, iron and centipedes. They are one of the four
spiritual animals, the others being the phoenix, unicorn and tortoise.
Western Dragons
Western dragons are extremely diverse in every aspect. They are
sometimes classified by body-type and defined by habitat, but this is not
set in stone.
Western dragons have four legs, the front legs often used normally
like human arms & hands. They have two wings often jointed above the front
arms, a long tail and neck with scales, hide or fur. They come in all colors
and shades. Their hands and feet are clawed. They sometimes have hard or
soft plated ridges from the nape of the neck to the tip of the tail. They
have head crests usually in the form of horns or protective plates. They are
often able to expel flame, smoke or other substance from their mouth for
the purpose of defense or attack.
Most western dragons have an extremely long life span. They are usually
wise creatures, and can be friendly or malicious. Their lifestyles and
habitats vary depending upon the group and type of dragon. The following
are different categories of western dragons.
Dragon info
The world of D&D dragons contains both western and eastern dragons.
The eastern dragons are based off history of eastern dragons (see 4b).
D&D dragons are able to use magic, and have a wide variety of
characteristics between the different species.
Young dragons begin pairing and mating when they are young adults
around 100 years old. They lay eggs have hatch several dragonets. The
young are raised by one or more parents till the age of 50 when they just
become young adults and leave their parents lair driven by greed to start
a lair of their own.
Western D&D dragons collect and hoard treasure in their lairs and use
it as bedding. Their lairs are usually far from civilization. They hide
their entrances and any evidence of their comings and goings. There is
very little wildlife near dragon lairs. They are very territorial about
the area around their lairs.
After a pair of mated dragons mature beyond the mature adult stage
(400 years) they will split up driven by the need for independence and
greed. Older dragons will raise young but after a pair mate and the eggs
are laid they will split up, leaving one parent to raise the young.
As they mature the dragons become stronger and wiser. Older dragons
know many languages and some can even speak telepathically. The oldest
dragons are among the most powerful creatures in the world. The oldest of
the dragons are known as Great Wyrms and live to be 1200 years and older.
All dragon species are said to come originally from the same roots but
the different species keep to themselves.Dragons are solitary
creatures.But if a force treatens them the dragons will gather according
to their species to confront it.
Chromatic
Color/type
Align
Intel
Environment
size
Breath
Black
CE
8-10
Swamps
30'
Acidic gas
Blue
LE
11-12
Dessert
42'
Lightning
Green
LE
11-12
Woods
36'
Cloud:(Poison and Chlorine Gas)
Red
CE
15-16
Mountains
48'
Fire
White
CE
5-7
Tundra
24'
Frost
Gem
Color/type
Align
Intel
Environment
size
Breath
Amethyst
N
17-18
Mountains(Water)
30'
Lozenge
Crystal
CN
1-8
Snowlands
12'
Snow Shards
Emerald
LN
15-16
Volcanoes
20'
Sonic Wail
Sapphire
LN
17-18
Underground
24'
Super Sonic Wail
Topez
CN
15-16
Seacoast
15'
Dehydration
Metallic
Color/type
Align
Intel
Environment
size
Breath
Brass
CG
13-14
Dry Ranges
30'
Cloud:Sleep and heat
Bronze
LG
15-16
Seacoast
42'
Cloud:(Repulse),Lightning
Copper
CG
13-14
Mountains (High)
36'
Cloud:(Slow),Asid
Gold
LG
17-18
Everywhere
54'
Cloud:(Chlorine gas),Fire
Silver
LG
15-16
Mountains (Peak)
48'
Cloud:(Paralysation),Frost
Oriental
Color/type
Align
Intel
Environment
size
Breath
Blue-Green
LN
12-15
Chiang Lung(River Dragon)
40'
Expel Storm Clouds
Blue-Grey
N
16-18
Yu Lung(Carp Dragon)
56'
Cloud:(healing)
Green
N
8-11
Wang Lung(Sea Dragon)
32'
Cloud:(hot steem)
Multicolored
NE
16-18
Tun Mi Lung(Typhoon Dragon)
48'
None
Multicolored
CN
22-24
Shen Lung(Spirit Dragon)
64'
Water,Fire
Multicolored
CN
12-16
Pan Lung(Coiled Dragon)
32'
Water,Fire
Dark (Fur)
N
12-16
Li Lung(Earth Dragon)
32'
None
Other
Color/type
Align
Intel
Environment
size
Breath
Abyss
??
12-20
Abyss
??
Water from the River Styx(destroys target's soul)
Adamantite
??
23-25
Astral Plane
??
Nova Fire (Blue color)
Brown
NE
13-14
Dessert
54'
Acidic Spray
Cloud
N
17-18
High Mountain
66'
Icy air with Snow
Deep
CE
15-16
Caverns
24'
Decomposing Gas
Dracolich
E
??
Undead Evil Dragon
??
Original Breath
Faerie
CG
??
(Multicolor)
??
Cloud:(Euthopia)
Mercury
CG
13-14
Mountains(warm)
25'
Laser Light
Mist
N
15-16
Forest(Water)
54'
Superheated Steam
Shadow
CE
17-18
Ruins(Dark)
21'
Blackness Cloud
Steel
LN
19-20
City(people)
25'
Toxic Cube Gas
Yellow
CE
11-12
Desert
36'
Air Sand Blast
Lava
CE
16-24
Volcano
40'
Lava
C - Chaotic (minimal social order) L - Lawful (stuctured social order) G - Good N - Neutral E - Evil
C - Chaotic (minimal social order)