REH Word of the Week – Mythical Beings: dragon
Monday, May 24, 2010
posted by Barbara Barrett
dragon
noun
1. A mythical being traditionally represented as a gigantic winged reptile with a huge claws and scaly skin, usually breathing fire and smoke and spitting poison.
[origin: 13th century; Middle English, from Old French, dragun, from Latin draco, dracon-, large serpent, from Greek drakon serpent; akin to Old English torht bright, Greek derkesthai to see, to look at]
HOWARD’S USAGE:
There is a cavern in the deep
Beyond the sea-wind’s brawl;
Where the hills of the sea slope high and steep,
And dragons sleep
And serpents creep—
There is a cavern in the deep
Where strange sea-creatures crawl.
[from “Deeps”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 274]
