dragon

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈdræɡən/ UK /ˈdraɡən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a mythical fire-breathing reptilian monster

In the legend, a dragon guarded the hoard beneath the mountain.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a mythical fire-breathing... wyrmwyvernserpent drake monster

Word family

Derived forms dragonishdragonet

Related forms dragoon drake

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Sometimes the dragon wins

Simplified etymology

Dragon came through Latin from Greek drakōn, meaning “serpent,” and serpent was among its earliest English senses. In medieval writing, reports of large snakes could overlap with the mythical fire-breathing creature; before dragon became established, English used drake or firedrake for the monster.

Etymology

From Old French 'dragon', from Latin 'draco' ('huge serpent, dragon'), from Ancient Greek 'drakōn' ('serpent'), probably from 'derkesthai' ('to see clearly').

dragon Old French draco Latin drakōn Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# dragon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdræɡən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdraɡən/

## Meanings
1. a mythical fire-breathing reptilian monster

## Examples
- In the legend, a dragon guarded the hoard beneath the mountain.

## Synonyms
- wyrm
- wyvern
- serpent
- drake
- monster

## Derived Forms
- dragonish
- dragonet

## Related Forms
- dragoon
- drake

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dragon
- Root: draco
- Root: drakōn

## Etymology
From Old French 'dragon', from Latin 'draco' ('huge serpent, dragon'), from Ancient Greek 'drakōn' ('serpent'), probably from 'derkesthai' ('to see clearly').

## AI Etymology
Dragon is from Old French 'dragon', from Latin 'draco' ('huge serpent, dragon'), from Ancient Greek 'drakōn' ('serpent'), probably from 'derkesthai' ('to see clearly'). The ancestry passes through Old French dragon, Latin draco, and Ancient Greek drakōn. In present use as a noun, it means "a mythical fire-breathing reptilian monster", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dragoon and drake; derived forms include dragonish and dragonet. The surrounding word family keeps the same base visible in dragonish, dragonet, dragoon, and drake, showing how the headword belongs to a larger cluster rather than standing alone.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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