Basilisk
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): (n.) A large piece of ordnance, so called from its supposed resemblance to the serpent of that name, or from its size.
(2): (n.) A fabulous serpent, or dragon. The ancients alleged that its hissing would drive away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look, was fatal. See Cockatrice.
(3): (n.) A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidae.
Easton's Bible Dictionary [2]
Isaiah 11:8 14:29 59:5 Jeremiah 8:17Cockatrice
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [3]
Basilisk . See Serpent.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
baz´i - lisk ( צפע , cepha‛ , צפעוני , ciph‛ōnı̄ , from obsolete root צפע , cāpha‛ , "to hiss": Isaiah 11:8; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17; Proverbs 23:32 m. In Proverbs 23:32 , the King James Version has "adder," margin "cockatrice"; in the other passages cited the King James Version has "cockatrice," margin "adder" (except Jeremiah 8:17 , no margin)): The word is from βασιλίσκος , basilı́skos , "kinglet," from basileús , "king," and signifies a mythical reptile hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg. Its hissing drove away other serpents. Its look, and especially its breath, was fatal. According to Pliny, it was named from a crown-like spot on its head. It has been identified with the equally mythical Cockatrice (which see). In all the passages cited, it denotes a venomous serpent (see Adder; Serpent ), but it is impossible to tell what, if any, particular species is referred to. It must be borne in mind that while there are poisonous snakes in Palestine, there are more which are not poisonous, and most of the latter, as well as some harmless lizards, are commonly regarded as deadly. Several of the harmless snakes have crownlike markings on their heads, and it is quite conceivable that the basilisk myth may have been founded upon one of these.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [5]
(See Cockatrice).
in the superstition of the Middle Ages, was a fabulous animal which was to come from an egg laid by a thirty-year-old cock, and which a turtle was to hatch. It was to be frightfully large, with the body of a fowl, a brazen bill and brazen claws, also a long tail, formed like three snakes, and with three points. Such an animal was regarded as dangerous from its size, and deadly from its poison, and it was supposed that it killed even with its look, and is itself invulnerable, the only weapon available against it being a looking- glass, at the presentation of which it is frightened and bursts.
