amphisbaena
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
From Latin amphisbaena, from Ancient Greek ἀμφίσβαινα, from ἀμφίς ‘both ways’ + βαίνω ‘I go’.
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /æmfɪsˈbiːnə/
[edit] Noun
amphisbaena (plural amphisbaenas)
- 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)
- (zoology) A genus of lizards, native to the Americas, having extremities which are very similar.
