资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dragon \Drag"on\, n. [F. dragon, L. draco, fr. Gr. ?, prob. fr.
   ?, ?, to look (akin to Skr. dar? to see), and so called from
   its terrible eyes. Cf. {Drake} a dragon, {Dragoon}.]
   1. (Myth.) A fabulous animal, generally represented as a
      monstrous winged serpent or lizard, with a crested head
      and enormous claws, and regarded as very powerful and
      ferocious.

            The dragons which appear in early paintings and
            sculptures are invariably representations of a
            winged crocodile.                     --Fairholt.

   Note: In Scripture the term dragon refers to any great
         monster, whether of the land or sea, usually to some
         kind of serpent or reptile, sometimes to land serpents
         of a powerful and deadly kind. It is also applied
         metaphorically to Satan.

               Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the
               waters.                            -- Ps. lxxiv.
                                                  13.

               Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the
               young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample
               under feet.                        -- Ps. xci.
                                                  13.

               He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
               which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a
               thousand years.                    --Rev. xx. 2.

   2. A fierce, violent person, esp. a woman. --Johnson.

   3. (Astron.) A constellation of the northern hemisphere
      figured as a dragon; Draco.

   4. A luminous exhalation from marshy grounds, seeming to move
      through the air as a winged serpent.

   5. (Mil. Antiq.) A short musket hooked to a swivel attached
      to a soldier's belt; -- so called from a representation of
      a dragon's head at the muzzle. --Fairholt.

   6. (Zo["o]l.) A small arboreal lizard of the genus Draco, of
      several species, found in the East Indies and Southern
      Asia. Five or six of the hind ribs, on each side, are
      prolonged and covered with weblike skin, forming a sort of
      wing. These prolongations aid them in making long leaps
      from tree to tree. Called also {flying lizard}.

   7. (Zo["o]l.) A variety of carrier pigeon.

   8. (Her.) A fabulous winged creature, sometimes borne as a
      charge in a coat of arms.

   Note: Dragon is often used adjectively, or in combination, in
         the sense of relating to, resembling, or characteristic
         of, a dragon.

   {Dragon arum} (Bot.), the name of several species of
      {Aris[ae]ma}, a genus of plants having a spathe and
      spadix. See {Dragon root}(below).

   {Dragon fish} (Zo["o]l.), the dragonet.

   {Dragon fly} (Zo["o]l.), any insect of the family
      {Libellulid[ae]}. They have finely formed, large and
      strongly reticulated wings, a large head with enormous
      eyes, and a long body; -- called also {mosquito hawks}.
      Their larv[ae] are aquatic and insectivorous.

   {Dragon root} (Bot.), an American aroid plant ({Aris[ae]ma
      Dracontium}); green dragon.

   {Dragon's blood}, a resinous substance obtained from the
      fruit of several species of {Calamus}, esp. from {C.
      Rotang} and {C. Draco}, growing in the East Indies. A
      substance known as dragon's blood is obtained by exudation
      from {Drac[ae]na Draco}; also from {Pterocarpus Draco}, a
      tree of the West Indies and South America. The color is
      red, or a dark brownish red, and it is used chiefly for
      coloring varnishes, marbles, etc. Called also {Cinnabar
      Gr[ae]corum}.

   {Dragon's head}.
      (a) (Bot.) A plant of several species of the genus
          {Dracocephalum}. They are perennial herbs closely
          allied to the common catnip.
      (b) (Astron.) The ascending node of a planet, indicated,
          chiefly in almanacs, by the symbol ?. The deviation
          from the ecliptic made by a planet in passing from one
          node to the other seems, according to the fancy of
          some, to make a figure like that of a dragon, whose
          belly is where there is the greatest latitude; the
          intersections representing the head and tail; -- from
          which resemblance the denomination arises. --Encyc.
          Brit.

   {Dragon shell} (Zo["o]l.), a species of limpet.

   {Dragon's skin}, fossil stems whose leaf scars somewhat
      resemble the scales of reptiles; -- a name used by miners
      and quarrymen. --Stormonth.

   {Dragon's tail} (Astron.), the descending node of a planet,
      indicated by the symbol ?. See {Dragon's head} (above).

   {Dragon's wort} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Artemisia} ({A.
      dracunculus}).

   {Dragon tree} (Bot.), a West African liliaceous tree
      ({Drac[ae]na Draco}), yielding one of the resins called
      dragon's blood. See {Drac[ae]na}.

   {Dragon water}, a medicinal remedy very popular in the
      earlier half of the 17th century. ``Dragon water may do
      good upon him.'' --Randolph (1640).

   {Flying dragon}, a large meteoric fireball; a bolide.



   {Flying army} (Mil.) a body of cavalry and infantry, kept in
      motion, to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy
      in continual alarm. --Farrow. 

   {Flying artillery} (Mil.), artillery trained to rapid
      evolutions, -- the men being either mounted or trained to
      spring upon the guns and caissons when they change
      position.

   {Flying bridge}, {Flying camp}. See under {Bridge}, and
      {Camp}.

   {Flying buttress} (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the
      thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by
      ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of
      masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid
      pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The
      word is generally applied only to the straight bar with
      supporting arch.

   {Flying colors}, flags unfurled and waving in the air; hence:

   {To come off with flying colors}, to be victorious; to
      succeed thoroughly in an undertaking.

   {Flying doe} (Zo["o]l.), a young female kangaroo.

   {Flying dragon}.
   (a) (Zo["o]l.) See {Dragon}, 6.
   (b) A meteor. See under {Dragon}.

   {Flying Dutchman}.
   (a) A fabled Dutch mariner condemned for his crimes to sail
       the seas till the day of judgment.
   (b) A spectral ship.

   {Flying fish}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Flying fish}, in the
      Vocabulary.

   {Flying fox} (Zo["o]l.), the colugo.

   {Flying frog} (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian tree frog of the
      genus {Rhacophorus}, having very large and broadly webbed
      feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to make
      very long leaps.

   {Flying gurnard} (Zo["o]l.), a species of gurnard of the
      genus {Cephalacanthus} or {Dactylopterus}, with very large
      pectoral fins, said to be able to fly like the flying
      fish, but not for so great a distance.

   Note: Three species are known; that of the Atlantic is
         {Cephalacanthus volitans}.

   {Flying jib} (Naut.), a sail extended outside of the standing
      jib, on the flying-jib boom.

   {Flying-jib boom} (Naut.), an extension of the jib boom.

   {Flying kites} (Naut.), light sails carried only in fine
      weather.

   {Flying lemur}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Colugo}.

   {Flying level} (Civil Engin.), a reconnoissance level over
      the course of a projected road, canal, etc.

   {Flying lizard}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Dragon}, n. 6.

   {Flying machine}, an apparatus for navigating the air; a form
      of balloon. -- {Flying mouse} (Zo["o]l.), the opossum
      mouse ({Acrobates pygm[ae]us}), of Australia.

   Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying
         squirrels. -- {Flying party} (Mil.), a body of soldiers
      detailed to hover about an enemy. -- {Flying phalanger}
      (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of small marsuupials of
      the genera {Petaurus} and {Belideus}, of Australia and New
      Guinea, having lateral folds like those of the flying
      squirrels. The sugar squirrel ({B. sciureus}), and the
      ariel ({B. ariel}), are the best known; -- called also
      {squirrel petaurus} and {flying squirrel}. See {Sugar
      squirrel}. -- {Flying pinion}, the fly of a clock. --
   {Flying sap} (Mil.), the rapid construction of trenches (when
      the enemy's fire of case shot precludes the method of
      simple trenching), by means of gabions placed in
      juxtaposition and filled with earth. -- {Flying shot}, a
      shot fired at a moving object, as a bird on the wing. --
   {Flying spider}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Ballooning spider}. --
   {Flying squid} (Zo["o]l.), an oceanic squid ({Ommastrephes,
      or Sthenoteuthis, Bartramii}), abundant in the Gulf
      Stream, which is able to leap out of the water with such
      force that it often falls on the deck of a vessel. --
   {Flying squirrel} (Zo["o]l.) See {Flying squirrel}, in the
      Vocabulary. -- {Flying start}, a start in a sailing race
      in which the signal is given while the vessels are under
      way. -- {Flying torch} (Mil.), a torch attached to a long
      staff and used for signaling at night.

资料来源 : WordNet®

flying dragon
     n : any of several small tropical Asian lizards capable of
         gliding by spreading winglike membranes on each side of
         the body [syn: {dragon}, {flying lizard}]