# basilisk

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbæzɪlɪsk/ · frequency rank #57,885

## Definitions
1. A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze is deadly.
2. A type of dragon used in heraldry.
3. Any tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.
4. A type of large brass cannon.
5. An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.

## Etymology
From Middle English basilicke, borrowed from Old French basilique, from Latin basiliscus, from Ancient Greek βασιλίσκος (basilískos, literally “minor king or chieftain”), from βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”), possibly based on descriptions or rare encounters with different types of cobra which have crown-like patterns on their head; the 'deadly gaze' may have been from the spitting cobra's ability to spit venom into the eyes of predators or prey from a distance. The infohazard sense is a figurative reference to the deadly gaze of the mythical creature.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/basilisk