Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-factory (293 mails)

[Tobias Burnus <burnus@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

Hans-Peter Jansen wrote:
> Cool name, but what's Basilisk?
>   

Hopefully, having a look at the "Basilisk Lizard" is not as fatal as the
basikisk of  (1).

Oxford English Dictionary says:

basilisk

[ad. L. basiliscus, a. Gr. <...> a kinglet, a kind of serpent, the
golden-crested wren, dim. of <...> king: see -ISK. The Latin form was
occas. used unchanged from 14th to 17th c.; Caxton, in 15th c.,
introduced forms after Fr. basilique, now basilic; and in 17th c.,
basilisco, -sko, after Sp., occur.]  [<...> denotes some Greek characters]

"1. A fabulous reptile, also called a cockatrice, alleged to be hatched
by a serpent from a cock's egg; ancient authors stated that its hissing
drove away all other serpents, and that its breath, and even its look,
was fatal. [So called, says Pliny, from a spot, resembling a crown, on
its head; mediæval authors furnished it with ‘a certain combe or coronet.’]"

"3. transf. A large cannon, generally made of brass"
"4. Zool. A small American lizard of the family Iguanidæ, having on the
top of its head a hollow crest which can be inflated at will."

Tobias


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory-help@xxxxxxxxxxxx