n. A legendary monster having the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a dragon or scorpion. [Middle English manticores, from Latin mantichōra, from Greek mantikhōras, variant of martiokhōras, from Old Iranian *martiya-khvāra-, man-eater : *martiya-, man; see mer- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + *-khvāra-, eater; see swel- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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