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Webster 1913 Edition


Amphisbaena


Amˊphis-bæ′na

,
Noun.
[L., fr. Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] on both ends + [GREEK] to go.]
1.
A fabled serpent with a head at each end, moving either way.
Milton.
2.
(Zool.)
A genus of harmless lizards, serpentlike in form, without legs, and with both ends so much alike that they appear to have a head at each, and ability to move either way. See Illustration in Appendix.
☞ The
Gordius aquaticus
, or hairworm, has been called an
amphisbaena
; but it belongs among the worms.

Definition 2024


Amphisbaena

Amphisbaena

See also: amphisbaena and amphisbæna

Translingual

Amphisbaena fuliginosa (type species)

Proper noun

Amphisbaena f

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Amphisbaenidae worm lizards.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

amphisbaena

amphisbaena

See also: Amphisbaena and amphisbæna

English

Alternative forms

Noun

amphisbaena (plural amphisbaenas)

  1. (mythology) A mythical serpent having a head at each end of its body, able to move in either direction.
    • 1971: What do you call that animal that goes backward and forward, head at each end? —Amphisbaena. A kind of lizard. It doesn't exist. — Anthony Burgess, M/F (Penguin 2004, p. 109)
  2. A genus of lizards, native to the Americas, having extremities which are very similar.

Translations