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bestiary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Folio from the Rochester Bestiary (13th c.)

Etymology

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Borrowed from Medieval Latin bēstiārium, from Latin bēstia (“beast, animal”). By surface analysis, beast +‎ -ary.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bestiary (plural bestiaries)

  1. A medieval treatise of various real or imaginary animals.
    • 16 Jun 1972, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, Port Moresby, page 22, column 1:
      Back in the 60s, Robin Boyd told us how ugly Australian architecture was. As his valediction, he has left us a bestiary of ugly Australians.
    • 1982, George Plimpton, A Sports Bestiary, McGraw-Hill Companies, →ISBN:
      This book is not actually a bestiary. It is what most people think a bestiary is—namely an assemblage of vividly imagined beasts who behave somewhat quirkily, bear only the vaguest application to real life, […]
  2. A collection of various beasts, depicted in art, literature, or the like.
    • 1 Mar 1996, The Australian Jewish News, Melbourne, page 25, column 3:
      More commonly known to the English speaker as “Genie”; the “dijn” is a powerful demon in the bestiary of the Middle East, mistaken in this instance for the Buddha.
    • 1998, John H. Roger, “Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions”, in Journal of the British Astronomy Association, volume 108, number 1, page 10, column 2:
      Later artworks showed many animals and gods, some of which were clearly identified with heavenly bodies. [...] Each shows a splendidly vivacious bestiary and pantheon, including the Sun-Moon-Venus symbols and a lion-versus-bull combat scene with an eagle or man-bull joining in.
  3. (gaming) A list or guidebook of the monsters to be found in a roleplaying game.
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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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