dragon:

[For the right pronunciation, please click here.]

(A)

a dragon

an imaginary (mythical/folklore) large snake-like creature; with four legs and sharp powerful claws on each foot; long tail; spikes on the body and tail; covered in scales; some with wings; spit (breathe) fire or poison; flies in the air,

(i)  European dragon

(ii)  Asian dragons:

the Indian Nag/Naga

Chinese Dragon

Druk or Thunder Dragon (Bhutan)

Japanese Dragon

Korean Dragon

Naga  (Indian Vedic Dragon)

Vietnamese Dragon

__________________________

(B)

a flying dragon

a kind of animal – reptile – related to the lizards; small with bright colours; lives in trees; grows to 8-10 inches long; with a layer of web-like skin in the shape of a wing on either side of its body which helps the lizard to jump (fly/glide) from one tree to another; common in the East Indies and South Asia, also called ‘flying dragon’ or ‘flying lizard’

Figures of Speech:

flaps of skin on either side

1.

dragon (noun)  =

(a)  a fierce violent person, especially a woman

(b)  a constellation of northern hemisphere (‘constellation’ = an imaginary shape of something with the stars in the sky, in this case the shape of a ‘dragon’)

dragon’s teeth (concrete structures to stop war tanks)

2.

dragon’s teeth  =  strong concrete barricades set up as obstacles to war tanks in a battles

3.

dragon’s blood  =  a kind of powder made from the plants used in the book-printing works

4.

to sow dragon’s teeth  =  to start or stir up troubles, difficulties, differences, etc.

5.

to chase the dragon  =  to inhale (= to take into one’s lungs) heroin, an illegal drug

Note: ‘Snapdragon’, also called ‘dragon flower’, is a kind of plant! For an article that explains this flower, please click here.