Dragon Etymology
Chapter II
The word dragon entered the English language around the mid. 13. century from Old French dragon, which originates from Latin: draconem meaning “huge serpent” and from Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn) meaning “serpent, giant sea fish”. The Greek word δράκων (drákōn) is most likely derived from the Greek verb δέρκομαι (dérkomai) meaning “to see” with the literal meaning of “one who stares”. Dragon became the official name for the large, mythical creatures, while variations on the root, such as “draconian,” “draconic,” and “draconical” all came to be adjectives describing something old, rigid, out of touch with the world, or even evil.
The first picture above is a dragon figure found during excavations in Caulonia, a coastal city of Italy’s Ionian Sea, in 1969. The excavation of the entire mosaic, which is thought to belong to the 4th century B.C., was completed in 2012. The second picture is the dragon figure “ouroboros” eating its tail, first found in Ancient Egypt and later used as a symbol of life cycle, death and rebirth in Ancient Greece.
There are many opinions on this meaning difference between East and West is due to the differences in religious beliefs. But this is the subject of another post :)
- Chinese Dragon, LanguageWire
- Introduction to Chinese Characters, Brown University Website
- Etymology of Dragon, Useless Mythology
- Dragon, New World Encyclopedia
- Derkomai, Wiktionary
- Dragon in Chinese, Wiktionary